A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

OR 

CHINA, SOUTH AND NORTH 
WITH PERSONAL REMINISCENCES 



v?' 




BY 

wr a:p?martin, d. d., ll. d. 

PRESIDENT EMERITUS OF THE IMPERIAL TUNGWEN COLLEGE 

MEMBRE DE l'iNSTITUT DE DROIT INTERNATIONAL 

MEM. COR. DE LA SOCIETE DE LA LEGISLATION COMPAREE, ETC. 

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAP 






7 



% UEP 1 ^896 ' 



FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY 

New York Chicago Toronto 

1896 



Copyright, 1 896, 
By Fleming H. Revell Company. 

Entered at Stationers' Hall. 
All rights reserved. 



THE CAXTON press, NEW YORK. 



TO MY GRANDCHILDREN, 

AND TO THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES, 

YOUNG AND OLD, I DEDICATE THIS VOLUME, IN THE HOPE OF 

INTERESTING THEM IN THE FUTURE OF A GREAT NATION, 

WITH WHICH OUR RELATIONS MUST EVER 

BECOME CLOSER AND MORE 

IMPORTANT. 



" On s 'oublie en parlant de soi." 

Prosper Merimee. 

" Schreiben Sie aus dem Gedachtniss auf, was Sie sich besinnen-nicht 
aus der Phantasie." ^^ ^^^ Humboldt. 



PREFACE 

FROM the prelude to China's first war with England to the 
present date is, roughly speaking, about sixty years — the 
length of a Chinese cycle, though for all I know Tennyson 
may have thought of it as a thousand years. To this period 
the following pages principally relate. During three fourths 
of it I was domiciled in China, dividing my life between South 
and North, and adding to the experiences of a missionary 
those of an employee of the Chinese government. For two 
years I served my own country at a critical epoch, when the 
treaties were negotiated which led to the opening of Peking. 

My position in a college closely connected with the Board 
of Foreign Affairs gave me exceptional opportunities for ob- 
serving the course of diplomacy in the Chinese capital for 
nearly thirty years. Yet my object is not so much to write a 
history of events as to exhibit the Chinese as I have seen 
them, in their social and political life. To some the personal 
element will add interest ; to all, I would fain hope, it will add 
confidence. 

Should the volume fall into the hands of any of my old 
students, they will, I trust, find in it the same sympathetic i 
appreciation of their country and the same candor of criticism 
which, I am sure, they have learned to expect. 

W. A. P. M. 

Audubon Park, New York City. 




The Cycle of Cathay. 
The Chinese Cycle consists of sixty years, each with a separate name. 
Their names are here ranged in the outer circle, and read from the top 
towards the left hand. The present year (1896) is the 32d of the 76th 
Cycle from the beginning of the Cyclic era. The figures in the mner 
space are the dual forces, Yin and Yang, symbolized by darkness and light, 
which form the starting point of Chinese philosophy. 



CONTENTS 



PART I 

LIFE IN SOUTH CHINA 

PAGE 

CHAP. I. First Glimpses of China: Policy of seclusion— Opium 
war — Hong Kong — Canton — Foot-binding — Macao — The coolie- 
trade — The " term question " 17 

CHAP. II. Voyage up the Coast: Amoy— Opening of a new 
church — Fuchau — Buddhism — Civil-service examinations — 
Ftingshiii, or geomancy — Missions — A glance at the map 36 

CHAP. III. Learning the Language: Two forms and many 
dialects — Musical tones — Reducing a dialect to writing — Clas- 
sical studies— " Pidgin-English " 51 

CHAP. IV. Scenes in Ningpo : The new church— Natives seeking 
a lost soul — Well-disposed; why? — Study of Mandarin— Tried 
converts — Chapel preaching — Casting out a devil — Idol proces- 
sions-Theatricals for the gods— The Chinese drama— Eyeless 
deities — Releasing a prisoner — Military antics 65 

CHAP. V. Scenes and Incidents: A liberal Buddhist— Cunning 
beggars— Invocation of devils— Imprecations and curses— Curi- 
ous commemorations — Women at a temple — Avatar of rain-god 
—Chasing the flood-fiend — Evils of opium 77 

CHAP. VI. Scenes and Incidents {Continued): A model riot- 
Portuguese violence and Chinese revenge— Bull-fights — Passion 
for gambling— Mixed marriages— 1 he palace of ceremony- 
Honors to a laureate— An earthquake, and its effects— Taoist 
and Taoism 91 

7 



8 CONTENTS 

PAGE 

CHAP. VII. Excursions in the Province: A fair valley and a 
foul crime — The baby-tower — Preaching in Examination Hall — 
Brownsville and exogamy — A stage for a pulpit — Country hos- 
pitality — Village feuds — The provincial capital — A Chinese 
Venice — Tomb of an emperor — The flood in China — Stupid 
models — Clever lawyers 107 

CHAP. VIII. Visits to the Islands: Chusan— Queer ways of 
fishing — Puto — Priests, temples, and human sacrifices — Pirates 

— Experience as a prisoner 117 

CHAP. IX. The Taiping Rebellion: On the Great River— A 
modern Mohammed — Mixed Christianity — Foreign opposition 
—A questionable policy 127 

CHAP. X. The "Arrow" War: Expedition to the North- 
Fruitless negotiations — Capture of Taku 143 

CHAP. XL Tientsin and the Treaties: Tartar plenipotentiaries 

— Pourparlers and signature —Episodes, tragic and comic— The 
whole a mirage 165 

CHAP. XII. The War Renewed : Repulse of Allies at Taku— 
Mr. Ward's visit to Peking — Reception by the viceroy — Journey 
overland — Ascent of Peiho — Scurvy treatment — Refusal of koto 

— Expulsion from the capital — Exchange of treaty— A strange 
presentiment 190 

CHAP. XIII. Last Views of Ningpo: A Chinese steamer and 

its owner— A steamer short of coal— Actors before the curtain. . 204 



PART II 

LIFE IN NORTH CHINA 

CHAP. I. Removal to Peking: The capital captured— Scenes at 

the hills — Temples and priests 217 

CHAP. II. First Years in Peking: War averted— International 
law introduced — A school opened — Odd notions of natural 
philosophy— Church and mission— Queer converts 230 



CONTENTS 9 

PAGE 

CHAP. III. The Great Wall and Sacred Places of Peking: 
Altar of heaven — Lama temple — Bridge in palace grounds — 
Mosque and pavilion— The Yellow Temple— Great Bell of 
Peking— Tombs of Ming emperors— Hot Springs— Grand Pass 
and Great Wall— Sketch of history— The empress dowager .... 242 

CHAP. IV. Visit to a Colony of Jews: Rough vehicles — Primi- 
tive roads — Alarm-beacons — Hills and minerals — Wretched inns 
— People and cities— Moslems and Jews 265 

CHAP. V. Pilgrimage to the Tomb of Confucius : The Yellow 
River; its new course; periodic changes — Temple and sepul- 
cher— Outline of Confucianism— The state religion— The three 
creeds blended — The Grand Canal 280 

CHAP. VI. The Tungwen College: Made president— School of 
Interpreters — Attempt to introduce the telegraph — Opposition 
to improvements — Ill-starred professors — An eccentric German 293 

CHAP. VII. The Tungwen College {Contimted) : Cradleof an em- 
press — Our college press — Two observatories and two astronomies 
— Opposition to the college — Superstition in high places — Old 
students — TheemperorlearningEnglish — Official appointments — 
Introduction of science into examinations for civil service — Trans- 
lation of books — Medical class and Chinese medicine — Wedded 
to ceremony — General Grant's visit — Religious impressions. . . . 306 

CHAP. VIII. Mandarins and Government — The Tsungli 
Yamen : Mandarins not a caste — Their grades, their training, 
their virtues and defects — Independence of the people — Limi- 
tations of monarchy — Formation and character of the Yamen — 
Strange recruits 328 

CHAP. IX. Notable Mandarins: A prince of the blood— A 
Chinese statesman — A Chinese scholar — A Manchu scholar — A 
Manchu statesman — A Chinese diplomat — A Chinese professor 344 

CHAP. X. Early Diplomatic Missions from China to the 
West: Pin's voyages— The Burlingame embassy— First mis- 
sion to France— First to England— First to Germany— Chinese 
students in the United States— Coolies in Cuba— Chunghau's 
mistakes — Marquis Tseng's successes 371 

CHAP. XI. China and her Neighbors : Relations with Russia 
— With Great Britain — With France — Aims of Germany — The 
four powers 387 



lo CONTENTS 

PAGE 

CHAP. XII. China AND her Neighbors {Continued): Relations 
with Japan— Ancient hostility — Recent war — Japan's renovation 
— Her field for expansion — China's relations with the United 
States— American influence— American trade 400 



CHAP. XIII. Sir Robert Hart and the Customs Service: 
— His influence not confined to the customs — How he made 
peace with France — How he has pioneered improvements in 
China — The service international in membership — Its high char- 
acter—Its influence not ephemeral— Originating in an accident, 
integrity has made it permanent— Sir Robert declines to be British 
minister — He wears the honors of many nations — His literary 
tastes— A reminiscence of Dr. McCosh 411 

CHAP. XIV. Sir Thomas Wade and the Audience Question : 
His career— His scholarship — His temper — His diplomacy — 
Attempt at social intercourse with mandarins — The audience cere- 
mony — The spell only half broken 427 

I CHAP. XV. The Missionary Question : Retrospect— The age of 
^^ persecution — Toleration by edict — Religious liberty by treaty- 
Right of residence in the interior— The French protectorate 
of Roman Catholic missions— The recent riots : their cause and 
cure — The outlook 439 

Appendix : Tables of Population, Trade, etc 459 

Index « 461 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS* 

PAGE 

Chinese Women at Home Frontispiece 

A Cycle of Cathay 6 

The Gardener at Work 30 

Execution of an Opium-smuggler 35 

Wheel of Fate 39 

A Common Sedan 40 

Irrigating Rice-fields 50 

A Canal in Ningpo To face 5 1 

The Thunder-god Hurling Death-bolts 71 

A Group of Beggars 76 

The Watmilung or Bob-tailed Dragon, Fired on by Im- 
pious Foreigners 84 

Opium-smoker's Progress— Past, Present, Future 87 

A Student in his Library Smoking Opium 90 

The Palace of Ceremony 99 

Raising Money for a Taoist Temple 105 

The " Old Philosopher " 106 

A Family at Breakfast in 

West Lake at Hangchau To face 113 

* Most of these illustrations are from drawings by native artists. Their obvious de- 
fects, therefore, are not without merit, as illustrative of Chinese art. A few of the larger 
prints are borrowed by consent of the publishers (Sampson Low & Co.) from a splendid 
work of Mr. J. Thomson, whom, in 1871, 1 introduced to Prince Kung and the ministers 
of state, and whom I assisted in procuring photographs connected with the Tsungli Ya- 
men. The dragon on the cover is an imperial emblem, copied from a book of decrees 
by the Emperor Kanghi. An imperial dragon is always represented as having golden 
scales and five claws. The cycle on the cover is explained on page 6. — W. A. P. M. 



12 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

The Night Patrol ii8 

A Buddhist Monk Beating a Wooden Drum 126 

The God of War 142 

Chinese Portrait-painter 147 

Batteries at the Mouth of the Peiho 149 

Meeting of the United States Minister and the Viceroy 

Tan To face 1 50 

Gunboats IN THE Grand Canal; TaoistTempleattheJunction 166 

Joint Card of Kweiliang and Hwashana 167 

Wine for the Minister 177 

KwEi AND HwA Sending a Despatch to the Emperor 185 

A Street in Tientsin To face 189 

United States Embassy on the Peiho To face 197 

The Embassy on the Road to Peking 203 

A Gate of Peking (One of the sixteen double gates in the outer 

wall) 216 

Buddhist Trinity and Worshipers To face 227 

A Buddhist Abbot 228 

House of the Man who had Six Wives To face 230 

A Schoolmaster; One Pupil Reciting with Back to the 

Table and One Doing Penance 237 

The Peking Waterworks 241 

The Emperor at the Plow 243 

The Island Bridge and Hill of Longevity To face 244 

Lama Priest, Prayer Wheel, and Idols 248 

The Great Wall at Nankow Pass To face 251 

Temple Attached to the Altar of Heaven 264 

Police Station 267 

My Bedstead 269 

A Portable Kitchen 270 

A Suburb of Peking 279 

Confucius Giving a Lecture 287 

Colossal Images — Ming Tombs 292 

Dr. Martin, First President of the Tungwen College. . To face 293 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 13 

PAGE 

Printing with Block and Brush 305 

Barber Shaving Student's Head 307 

Professor Li and his Mathematical Class 312 

Mr. Chang Toyi, English Tutor to the Emperor (Summer 

Dress) 316 

Mr. Shen Toh, English Tutor to the Emperor (Winter 

Dress) 318 

Mr. Tching, Wife, and Child 326 

Altar of Heaven 327 

Tsungli Yamen and Ministers of State To face 338 

A Street Show in Peking 343 

Li Hung Chang at Fifty 348 

Fan Presented to Dr. Martin by the Marquis Tseng. To face 364 

The Marquis Tseng in Summer Dress 365 

The Bridal Pair Worshiping a Tablet Inscribed with 

THE Five Objects of Veneration 367 

The Bridal Pair ("Joy" in Huge Letters above their 

Heads) To face 368 

The Bride in the Flowery Chair Arriving at her New 

Home 368 

Ministers of the First Four Treaty Powers: Berthemy, 

Vlangali, Bruce, Burlingame 379 

The Marquis Tseng in Winter Dress 385 

Blind Musician, by Profession a Fortune-teller 399 

Sir Robert Hart, Baronet 412 

Midway Arch in Pass at the Great Wall 426 

Hall of the Stone Classics To face 447 

Map To follow 464 



PART I 

LIFE IN SOUTH CHINA 



15 






LIFE IN SOUTH CHINA 



CHAPTER I 

FIRST GLIMPSES OF CHINA 

Policy of seclusion — Opium war — Hong Kong — Canton — Foot-binding 
— Macao — The coolie-trade — The " term question" 

EARLY in the morning of April lo, 1850, we* were 
startled by the cry of " Pirate! pirate!" from our Dutch 
cabin-boy ; but instead of those freebooters, so dreaded in the 
China seas, we were boarded by a pilot, who soon brought the 
good ship ** Lantao " to anchor in the harbor of Hong Kong, 
after a voyage of one hundred and thirty-four days from Bos- 
ton — a voyage which may now be made in one fifth of the 
time. None but those who have worn out a considerable por- 
tion of their hves in doubling capes and contending with head 
winds, or with still more vexatious calms, can properly appre- 
ciate what steam has done to bring the ends of the earth to- 
gether. The transformation may be said to realize the dream 

* There were six of us, namely, Rev. Justus Doolittle, of the American 
Board, author of a well-known book on the " Social Life of the Chinese " ; 
my brother. Rev. S. N. D. Martin, myself, and our wives, of the Pres- 
byterian Board. 

17 



l8 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

of an ancient Chinese fabulist, who represents an imperial trav- 
eler as receiving from the gods a whip, whose blows had the 
effect of causing the earth to shrink to small dimensions.* 

PoHtically, the place we saw before us was not China ; the 
little rocky islet having been ceded to Great Britain in 1843, 
after the close of the war. The conquering power might as 
easily have annexed a province, or a larger island farther up 
the coast ; but with the instinct of a maritime empire, which 
has led her to pick up such rocks as Gibraltar and Malta, Aden 
and Singapore, she chose to retain none of her conquests save 
this sea-girt mountain. Hong Kong possesses a m.agnificent 
harbor, easy to fortify, and commands not merely the approaches 
to Canton, but the whole commerce of the China coast, and, 
to some extent, that of Japan. From a mere fishing-village it 
had already grown to be a thriving town ; and now it is a great 
city of two or three hundred thousand inhabitants. The Peak 
of Victoria, which we then saw rising before us in rugged 
majesty, is to-day crowned with magnificent buildings, to 
which the occupants are lifted by steam ; and the sides of the 
mountain, then clad with tropical jungle, are now adorned by 
gay streets gleaming like golden bands on the shoulders of a 
naval Atlas. 

One morning shortly after our arrival I set out for the sum- 
mit of the Peak, nearly two thousand feet above the sea, say- 
ing that I would be home for early breakfast. Soon, however, 
the grassy carpet that seemed to extend to the top resolved 
itself into a network of creepers, overlying huge fragments of 
stone, and concealing cliffs which I had to scale in my stock- 
ing-feet. It was high noon when I reached the goal, and then 
I discovered a beaten path, which, had I known of it, would 
have saved me all that trouble and danger. I resolved thence- 

* The traveler, an historical character, was the Emperor Muh, who 
reigned 1000 B.C. The fiction, founded on his travels, is as old as the 
era of the Punic Wars. 



FIRST GLIMPSES OF CHINA 19 

forth not to attack a difficulty until I had surveyed it on all 
sides. 

We were kindly lodged at the house of the Rev. Mr. Johnson, 
of the American Baptist Mission, who made us feel at home 
by permitting us to pay our proportion of his family expenses 
— an arrangement indispensable for those missionaries who, liv- 
ing on grand routes of travel, keep open house for all comers. 

My brother proceeded to the North in the *' Lady Mary 
Wood," the only steamer then plying on a coast where there 
are now literally thousands, large and small. The rate of pas- 
sage to Shanghai was exorbitant (about two hundred dollars in 
gold) ; and to save expense, as well as to get a view of several 
seaports on the way, my wife and I preferred to join a party 
in chartering a Portuguese schooner, or lorcha. Before going 
to bed on the day of our arrival — my birthday as well as my 
entrance on a new life — I wrote in my journal a long series 
of good resolutions. Luckily they were lost at sea, otherwise 
the contrast between purpose and attainment might now have 
been too humiHating. A retrospect is here required as a key 
to the situation. 

My interest in China was first awakened in 1839 by the 
boom of British cannon battering down her outer walls. In 
the case of China, as in that of Japan, the pohcy of seclusion 
was recent, and was adopted by both for the same reason. 
China had always prided herself on having distant nations 
knock at her doors ; and she encouraged them to come in by 
allowing their tribute missions to carry on trade duty-free. 
But a change of policy came with the discovery of a new 
route to the East by the Cape of Good Hope. When she saw 
Europeans arrive with stronger ships and better artillery than 
her own, her fears began to be excited. When she observed 
them pocketing the islands of the Eastern seas, and contend- 
ing for fragments of the empire of her kinsman, the Great 
Mogul, she deemed it prudent to close her ports, leaving the 



V 



20 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

gates ajar at one point only, namely, Canton, the emporium 
of the South. 

The impression made by the unscrupulous aggressions of 
European adventurers is well set forth in a fictitious narrative 
called "The Magic Carpet," written by a Chinese author two 
centuries ago. " In the days of the Ming dynasty," says this 
Oriental apologue, " a ship of the red-haired barbarians came 
to one of oiu: southern seaports and requested permission to 
trade. This being refused, the strangers begged to be allowed 
the use of so much ground as they could cover with a carpet, 
for the purpose of drying their goods. Their petition was 
granted ; and, taking the carpet by the corners, they stretched 
it until there was room for a large body of men, who, drawing 
their swords, took possession of the city." 

Japan at this period excluded all but the Dutch and the 
Chinese ; but the merchants of those favored nations had to 
submit to be locked up at night like malefactors. China was 
more impartial, admitting all comers, and treating all with 
equal indignity and suspicion. Like Japan, she turned the 
missionaries out of doors and banished or butchered their 
converts, lest a religious propaganda should pave the way for 
political encroachment. The merchants she allowed to re- 
side at Canton for only a short time in the year ; and, with a 
natural prevision, she objected to their bringing their wives, 
since that indicated a disposition to stay. The first woman to 
set this restriction at defiance was the wife of an English super- 
intendent of trade, and cannon had to be planted before her 
door to deter the natives from attempting her expulsion. 
Foreigners were confined to a suburb, and on no account were 
they permitted to enter the gates of the city. What is more 
significant is that native scholars were forbidden to teach them 
the mysteries of the Chinese written language. A teacher en- 
gaged by Dr. Morrison, the first English missionary, always car- 
ried poison, so as to be able by suicide to escape the clutches 



FIRST GLIMPSES OF CHINA 21 

of the mandarins should he fall into their hands on the charge 
of being guilty of so heinous a crime. The reign of terror was 
somewhat mitigated when a teacher in the employ of Dr. Wil- 
liams, one of our earliest American missionaries, was known in 
his comings and goings to bear in his hand an old shoe, that 
he might, in an emergency, pass himself off for a cobbler. 

The conflict that put an end to this cowardly policy bears 
the malodorous name of the " opium war " ; conveying an im- 
pression that it was waged by England for the sole purpose of 
compelling the Chinese to keep an open market for that pro- 
duct of her Indian poppy-fields. Nothing could be more er- 
roneous. Grievances had been accumulating such as a self- 
respecting people cannot endure forever. " For one hundred 
and fifty years, up to the year 1842," says Dr. Williams, "a 
leading grievance was that proclamations were annually issued 
by the government accusing foreigners of horrible crimes." In 
1816 a British ambassador had been refused an audience by 
the emperor because he declined to do homage by performing 
the Koto, or Nine Prostrations. In 1834 Lord Napier, Brit- 
ish superintendent of trade, was not only denied an interview 
with the governor of Canton, but his letters were rejected be- 
cause they were not stamped with the word//;/ ("petition "), 
a word which in Chinese expresses abject inferiority. Either 
of these indignities— not to enumerate others— might have fur- 
nished ground for a just war; and if England had prompdy 
appealed to arms to prevent violence and vindicate honor, her 
record would have stood fairer than unhappily it does now. 
Interest had to combine with indignation before she could be 
roused to action. 

Her opportunity, however, came when the Emperor Tao- 
kwang despatched a high commissioner to Canton to fill the 
office of viceroy and put a stop to the traffic in opium. The 
drug was already contraband by imperial decree ; England had 
made no protest ; nor would she have hfted a finger to pro- 



22 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

tect her people in their smuggling trade if Chinese cruisers had 
driven them from the coast. But when Commissioner Lin is- 
sued commands to the Queen as a vassal of China, and treated 
her subjects with unjustifiable violence, the question entered 
upon another phase. The opium was stored on ships that lay- 
outside among the islands, but its owners were at Canton. 
Without taking the trouble to identify them, the commissioner 
surrounded the factories with a cordon of soldiers and threat- 
ened the whole foreign colony with death if their opium was 
not surrendered by a fixed date. To give them an idea of 
what they had to expect, a native opium-smuggler had shortly 
before been put to death in an open spot in front of the 
factories. 

Captain ElHot, the superintendent of trade, who was at 
Macao, hearing of these high-handed proceedings, hastened to 
Canton to share the perils of his countrymen. Without him- 
self having the least sympathy with their illicit commerce, he 
called upon them to deliver their opium to him for the service 
of the Queen, and then handed it over to the viceroy as a ran- 
som for British lives. Over twenty thousand chests, valued at 
nine million dollars, were then destroyed by mixing the drug 
with quicklime and pouring it into the river. This property 
having been demanded by her representative for her service, 
the Queen was pledged to see that the owners were indemni- 
fied. An order in council authorized reprisals, to compel the 
Chinese to make amends for their act of spoliation. Thus 
began a war which was more fortunate for England than that 
which followed the destruction of her tea in Boston harbor. 
After many battles, in all of which the Chinese were worsted, 
it ended in the treaty of 1842, by which the five ports of Can- 
ton, Amoy, Fuchau, Ningpo, and Shanghai were opened to 
British trade. Not a word was inserted in the treaty in favor 
of the trade in opium ; yet the result was, as foreseen, a com- 
plete immunity from interference ; and the traffic flourished be- 



FIRST GLIMPSES OF CHINA 23 

yond measure, the traders having nothing to fear and no duties 
to pay. Had England, after exacting due reparation, intro- 
duced a prohibition clause, there can be no doubt that China 
might have been freed from a terrible scourge. What a con- 
trast between her opium policy and her antislavery legislation! 

In the treaties which followed with France and the United 
States (1844) the subject of opium was likewise ignored. Had 
Mr. Gushing at that early date placed the abominable traffic 
under the ban of the law, and induced France to do likewise, 
the moral effect could not have failed to be excellent. But 
when Mr. Angell condemned it in his treaty, nearly forty years 
later, it was then too late. At the instance of the French min- 
ister, the persecuting edicts were withdrawn. Christian exiles 
were recalled from banishment, and the propagation of the faith 
was formally sanctioned. Roman Catholic missionaries had 
never ceased to carry on a secret propaganda, but they now 
entered the country in greater numbers, and Protestants began 
to establish themselves in the "open ports." Such was the 
state of things at the date of my arrival. 

While waiting for our vessel we made a visit to Canton. A 
small steamer carried us across the bay and forty miles up the 
Pearl River to a landing-place in a suburb of the great city. 
Our host. Dr. Happer, was there to receive us, and we made 
our way to his house through a forest of junks, in a small boat 
sculled by a large-footed woman— a fine specimen of nature 
undeformed. It was the abode of a family, who crowded 
themselves into a stern cabin, leaving for the use of passengers 
the front cabin, which was neatly spread with matting and 
adorned with flowers. Babies born on these boats are aquatic 
by early habit, if not by instinct. It is said that they can swim 
when first thrown into the water ; but, in case of accident, they 
always have a joint of bamboo strapped on the back, to en- 
able their parents to fish them up. The river population would 
alone suffice to people a considerable city. It consists of three 



24 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

classes : the crews of junks that come and go ; those who hve 
and make their Hving on the river ; and those who do business 
on land but lodge in boats for the want of a pied-a-terre. 
Among the boats moored to the shore a large number are richly 
curtained and ornamented with beautiful carvings. These are 
the so-called " flower-boats," mostly the abode of bedizened 
Cyprians, who are enrolled by the police and recognized as 
pursuing a lawful calling. The legal sanction of vice always 
indicates a low standard of morahty. 

As we stepped on shore we were greeted by a hooting crowd, 
who shouted FcDiqui^ fa7iqid! shato, shato! (" Foreign devils! 
cut off their heads!"). " Is this," I mused, "the boasted civ- 
ilization of China? Are these the people for whom I left my 
home? " But, I reflected, if they were not heathen, why should 
I have come? They looked as savage and as fierce as canni- 
bals—the junkmen being always half-naked. Not long before 
this Dr. Ball, an old missionary, being thrown into the water 
by the overturning of a boat, caught the cable of a junk and 
called for help. He was soon surrounded by a number of 
small craft, but not one of their greedy occupants would take 
him ashore until a promise of twenty dollars had been extorted. 
Whether that is to be set down to hostility or to cupidity, I 
leave the reader to decide. 

Canton having been held to ransom instead of being taken 
by British troops in the first war, the native insolence of the 
people was in no degree abated. They even pretended that 
their assailants were driven away ; and it is said they erected 
a monument to commemorate their victory! In the second 
war, which occurred in 1857, the AUies, now grown wiser, took 
good care to occupy the city. A great change was visible in 
the disposition of the inhabitants ; but a generation has passed 
since then, and they now seem to need another lesson. 

I observed that the heads of the men were covered with a 
coat of short frowzy hair, in striking contrast with the shining 



FIRST GLIMPSES OF CHINA 25 

scalps we had seen in Hong Kong. The difference was due to 
the recent death of the Emperor Taokwang, for whom a rigid 
mourning of a hundred days was exacted of all under the scep- 
ter of China. In ordinary times, for a Chinese to let his hair 
grow is to risk his head ; nor is it less perilous to shave it dur- 
ing a period of mourning. After the death of the Emperor 
Tungchih, in 1874, an officer in Yunnan was cashiered for call- 
ing his barber a few days too soon. The cue and the tonsure 
are emblems of subjection imposed on the men by their Tartar 
conquerors two hundred and fifty years ago. They did not, 
however, interfere with the women, who, uninfluenced by the 
ladies of the court, persist in compressing their feet and in dress- 
ing their hair in a style different from that of the Manchus. 

The whimsical fashion which condemns Chinese women to 
totter on their tiptoes is said in the Kingyuen, or " Mirror 
of Research," to have originated between 300 and 500 a.d. ; 
but native scholars generally maintain that the custom sprang 
from emulation of Lady Yang — a small-footed Cinderella — 
who bewitched the Emperor Minghuang twelve centuries ago. 
So light was her step that, Camilla-like, she " skimmed o'er the 
unbending corn," or, as the Chinese say, " over the tops of 
golden Hlies ;" but her imitators have since ceased either to run 
or to dance. The source of many evils and of no good what- 
ever — unless it be that of keeping women at home — this usage 
surpasses anything we meet with in the West as an example of 
the tyranny of a perverted taste, the passion for a waspish waist 
or that for a flattened skull not excepted. These are sporadic 
or tribal ; the other is national. 

For thirty generations have the women of China groaned 
under the ''torture of the boot"— what a pity their daughters 
are not born with feet of the admired type! Unknown in the 
days of Confucius, this practice has risen up in defiance of his 
maxim that " filial piety requires you to preserve your bodily 
members entire, as you received them from your parents." 



26 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

Were it connected with Buddhism, its self-inflicted torment 
would be more intelligible. In no way religious in origin, re- 
hgion will have to be invoked for its abohtion, teaching Chi- 
nese women the sin of mutilating or distorting the Creator's 
workmanship and inflicting cruel sufferings on their innocent 
offspring. When a tortured child shrinks from the ordeal, she 
is told that she must subnn"t or become the butt of ridicule 
and be ineligible in the marriage market. 

The streets, which in hot weather are completely shaded with 
awnings, are narrow, paved with flagstones, and gay with pen- 
dent sign-boards, the Chinese characters producing a fine pic- 
torial effect. When you stop to read them the effect is com- 
ical. "Righteousness and Peace," "Benevolence and Jus- 
tice," " Unselfish Generosity," " Friendship and Fidelity," and 
a hundred other high-sounding combinations are employed to set 
forth the virtues of the proprietors. One likes to see prominence 
given to the moral sentiments, but the suggestion of a differ- 
ence between profession and practice is not agreeable. The 
wall which incloses the city proper is of stone, and, were it not 
hidden by houses, forms a feature in a landscape in which the 
only other objects that can be called picturesque are an occa- 
sional pagoda, two noble rivers, and the White Cloud Hills, 
seen in the distance. The population of city and suburbs is 
about one million. 

The foreign factories, or residence of the mercantile colony, 
we found were in a crowded suburb, near one of the gates ; 
but after the second war they were removed to a pretty island 
in the river called Shamien, 

How happens it, it may be asked, that a large city like Can- 
ton is situated so far from the river's mouth? The same pecu- 
liarity is to be remarked in the case of all Chinese cities on 
rivers emptying into the sea. Does it not show that inland 
trade has been to them a more important factor than ocean 
commerce? Or were they placed at a distance from the sea- 



FIRST GLIMPSES OF CHINA 27 

board to be out of the reach of pirates? So rife was piracy in 
the reign of Kanghi (1662-1723) that he ordered the whole 
population to remove inland, to the distance of thirty //, or ten 
miles, in order to starve out the freebooters. 

During our ten days' sojourn we made the acquaintance of 
a number of persons who have left their impress on the course 
of events in China. The then British consul was Dr. (after- 
ward Sir John) Bowring, governor of Hong Kong— poet and 
linguist. His best-known verses are the missionary hymns, 
" Watchman, tell us of the night," and " In the cross of Christ 
I glory," both so full of faith and fervor that one would hardly 
suspect their author of being a Unitarian. 

Presenting a letter from one of his American cousins, Miss 
Maylin, a friend of my wife, we were invited to breakfast at 
the consulate. We met there the captain of a British man- 
of-war, to whom, as well as to us. Dr. Bowring expatiated on 
the principles of the Peace Society. He maintained that all 
wars might be avoided ; and, in proof of the radical kindliness 
of human nature, he told us that he had succeeded in walking 
around the city, from the interior of which foreigners were not 
only excluded, but in the neighborhood of which they could 
not go about with safety. A gang of roughs opposed his pas- 
sage with stones in their hands, but they laughed and dropped 
their missiles when he addressed them in their own tongue. 
Who could have imagined that this apostle of peace would be 
the author of the next war! 

Dr. Peter Parker was in charge of a hospital which he had 
conducted for many years. He called it an ophthalmic hos- 
pital, because the skilled treatment of the eye made then, as 
it still does, the deepest impression on the Chinese. The hos- 
pital walls, however, were embellished with drawings of cap- 
ital operations in more than one department of surgery. The 
first sermon I heard in Chinese was from Dr. Parker's lips, ad- 
dressed to a crowd who were waiting for the moving of the 



28 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

waters. He afterward became United States minister, retired 
to Washington, and closed his days in a sumptuous dwelhng 
near the Presidential mansion. His fame, however, rests on 
his work as a pioneer of medical missions. 

Still more distinguished was the career of Dr. S. Wells Wil- 
hams. Missionary, diplomatist, and sinologue, his hfe was 
many-sided, and in every situation he displayed a phenomenal 
power of systematic industry. Beginning as a printer to the 
American Board Mission, and entering the diplomatic service 
only when his printing-office had been destroyed in a confla- 
gration of the foreign settlement, he closed his life in China by 
being charge d'affaires for the ninth time. The government 
might have honored itself by making him minister. " The fact 
is," said Secretary Seward, when asked why it had not done 
so, " we have found him indispensable as a secretary of lega- 
tion." Ministers might come and go, but he remained to pilot 
the new-comers and aid each by his wisdom and experience. 
Much as he was able to accomphsh in the service of the gov- 
ernment, he has done more as an author. Not to speak of minor 
publications, his " Middle Kingdom " is a storehouse of infor- 
mation on China not likely soon to be superseded. More prob- 
lematical is the future of his " Chinese Dictionary," which, de- 
spite its many merits, can hardly hope for permanence with- 
out a thorough revision by some one familiar with the dialects 
of the North. Each of these works is broad enough for the 
pedestal of a first-class reputation. It must be remembered 
that the former was produced while he was engaged as a mis- 
sionary, and the latter in such moments as he could snatch from 
his duties at the legation. " Here is a new page to be written 
for eternity," he said to me one morning during our negotia- 
tions in Tientsin. Such was his habitual feeling : each day was 
a divine gift to be accounted for: hence his conscientious in- 
dustry. Besides contributing much to the opening of China, 
Dr. Williams had a hand in the opening of Japan, having learned 



FIRST GLIMPSES OF CHINA 29 

the language from some shipwrecked natives, and accompanied 
Commodore Perry as interpreter in his expedition to those isl- 
ands. I shall have frequent occasion to refer to him in the 
sequel. 

The Rev. William Burns, of Scotland, a prominent saint in 
the missionary calendar, I reserve to be noticed in connection 
with Peking. 

The Rev. A. P. Happer, M.D., our host, was already a man 
of note. Trained for medical service, he directed his energies 
chiefly to educational work and the translation of books. His 
monument is the Christian college at Canton. From the date 
of this visit to the close of his Hfe, in 1894, he was my friend 
and correspondent. His last letter to me, perhaps the last he 
ever sent to any one, was dictated from his pillow on the day 
of his decease. 

The Rev. Issachar Roberts, uncouth and eccentric, then gave 
no indication of the part he was to play in the great events of 
the near future ; for it was he on whom fell the responsibility 
of giving shape to the rehgious element in the Tai-ping rebel- 
lion — a movement which but for foreign interference would 
have placed his pupil on the throne of China. With his un- 
couthness Bishop Smith had been so impressed that he took 
him as an example of the kind of man who ought not to be sent 
out, adding, however, the pious reflection, " Yet who knows 
but that God may have something for him to do? for he often 
chooses weak things to confound the mighty." " This sen- 
tence," said the bishop, speaking to me long afterward, " Rob- 
erts accepted as a prophecy, and bound it as a crown of glory 
on his head at a time when he had become famous as the 
teacher of a possible emperor." An instance of Mr. Roberts's 
eccentricity is worth telling. A young missionary, in a fit of 
melancholy, attempted suicide, and when discovered was slowly 
bleeding to death. A young woman, perhaps the innocent cause 
of the tragedy, ran to the nearest chapel and besought Mr, Rob- 



30 



A CYCLE OF CATHAY 



erts to come to the succor of the dying man. " Let the dead 
bury their dead, but I must preach the gospel," he rephed, and 
proceeded to preach as if nothing had happened. 

Before leaving Canton we visited the gardens of Howqua, 
one of the thirteen hong merchants who, prior to the era of the 
treaties, held a monopoly of foreign trade. They were situ- 
ated on the opposite bank of the river, in a locahty that bore 
the appropriate name of Fati (" Land of Flowers"). Though 
extensive, and abounding in strange forms of vegetation, they 
did not in the least resemble the " Leasowes " of Shenstone or 
the gardens of Alcinous— making no attempt at landscape be- 
yond heaps of rockwork, which resembled mountain scenery 
as much as a brick resembles a house. Rows of evergreens, 




THE GARDENER AT WORK. 



twisted into the shapes of birds and beasts, gave us the first 
example of a form of bad taste pecuharly Chinese. The sum- 
mer residence of the proprietor was crammed with curious fur- 
niture, one room being set apart for a collection of clocks of 
every pattern and principle. It was a museum, not a home, 



FIRST GLIMPSES OF CHINA 31 

On our return trip we touched at Macao, a Portuguese set- 
tlement built on a peninsula walled off from the mainland, 
and called, for some reason to me unknown, the " Holy City." 
One sacred thing which it contains is a grotto, where, it is said, 
Camoens composed some cantos of the Lusiad, the immortal 
epic in which he celebrates Vasco da Gama and the opening 
of the East. 

For three centuries Macao had thriven on a foreign trade, 
which it shared with Canton ; but it is now overshadowed by 
Hong Kong and slowly faUing to decay. Formerly the Por- 
tuguese paid the Chinese government a nominal ground-rent 
of six hundred ounces of silver. But they have now ceased to 
pay this trifling tribute and obtained a formal recognition of 
their territorial sovereignty— subject to the proviso that they 
shall not transfer the colony to any other power without the 
consent of China. 

As the Portuguese in Africa were the last Europeans to 
abandon the trade in negro slaves, those in China have been 
the last to renounce the profits of the new slave-trade — the 
traffic in Chinese cooHes. Driven from Hong Kong by British 
humanity, that infamous traffic found for some years a refuge 
in Macao, which it galvanized into temporary prosperity. It 
was finally suppressed by the stern determination of the Chi- 
nese government, encouraged by the public sentiment of the 
West. The most frequent destination of a coolie cargo was 
Peru or Cuba, the United States never— the spirit of our laws 
barring the way even prior to any direct legislation against the 
importation of contract labor. The first law of that class was 
enacted to preclude the introduction of Chinese coolies. 

The number actually held in bondage in each of those coun- 
tries was estimated at between sixty and a hundred thousand. 
The total embarked for all parts could not have been less than 
half a million. Most of them mortgaged their liberty without 
compulsion ; but a large proportion were victims of land-sharks, 



32 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

who bought them from native kidnappers. Stories were rife of 
those miscreants throwing a strait-jacket over the head of any 
man or boy whom they might meet on a lonely path. By their 
depredations whole provinces were kept in a state of panic, 
and foreigners of every nationality were in danger of suffering 
for their supposed comphcity in the vile traffic. 

After securing the person of the victim, it remained to ob- 
tain his consent to embark. Dr. Ashmore thus describes the 
process : 

" The coohes were said to enter into the engagement volun- 
tarily. To ascertain the facts, the speaker visited Macao. The 
doors of the barracoons were found to be open, as stated ; but 
on either side was stationed a Portuguese, armed with a heavy 
club, and egress was at the peril of the coolie's life. The con- 
tract-stand was visited. The coolies were marched up ; the con- 
tract was read in a rapid manner by a Portuguese to a coolie, 
who probably did not understand a word of it. Then his 
hand was seized, and the impress of his thumb forcibly 
made on the paper. This was the vohmtary signing of the 
compact." * 

The voyage across the Pacific renewed the horrors of the 
Atlantic "middle passage," aggravated by its greater length. 
In the African trade, cases of mutiny were rare ; but the Chi- 
nese, made of sterner stuff than the negro, in many instances 
butchered the white crew, and in not a few others scutded or 
burned the ship from either revenge or despair. The follow- 
ing account of these atrocities I take from a valuable book 
on " Chinese Immigration," by the Hon. George F. Seward, 
formerly minister to China : 

" The American ship ' Waveriey,' laden with coolies, put into 

the port of INIanila. Some of the Chinese asked to go ashore. 

An altercation ensued, in which one Chinaman was shot, and 

the rest were forced below and the hatches battened down. 

=^ " North China Herald," September 6, 1895. 



FIRST GLIMPSES OF CHINA 2>Z 

These were not opened until the next morning, when two hun- 
dred and fifty-one cooHes were found dead ! In an outbreak 
on the ' Canavero,' an Italian ship, the cooHes were similarly 
driven below and the hatches battened down ; but, unwilling 
to perish by suffocation, they set fire to the ship. The crew 
escaped in boats, and the ship, with her cargo of human beings, 
was consumed. 

"Nor were these tragedies exceptional. In March, 187 1, 
Chief Justice Smale, of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong, de- 
livered a decision in which the character of the Macao coolie- 
trade was dealt with at length. ' I have endeavored,' he wrote, 
' to make up a list of vessels in which there have been coolie 
risings and destruction of ships. The list is not complete, but 
I believe that within a short period some six or seven ships, 
carrying about three thousand coolies, have been burned or 
otherwise destroyed, with an immense loss of life, including 
captains and a relatively large proportion of the crews.*" 

The last ship to carry away such human freight was, I be- 
heve, the " Maria Luz." Putting into Yokohama, eji ivute for 
Peru, one of her victims threw liimself into the sea and swam 
off to a British man-of-war. The captain refused to give the 
fugitive up. The case became known to the local authorities, 
and, to its lasting honor, the Japanese government promptly 
restored the whole cargo to their native land. This was the 
coitp lie grace to a gigantic evil. 

Going one day to the London Mission Hospital in Hong 
Kong, my eye was arrested by the appearance of a sign-board, 
inscribed in Hebrew, with the rallying-cry of the Jews : *' Hear, 
O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord." Dr. Hirschberg, 
the physician in charge, himself a Hebrew, had prepared this 
in the hope of catching the attention of some wandering Jew. 
It was known that Jews existed in China, as everywhere else, 
a small colony of them having been discovered by Catholic 
missionaries. How little did I dream that it was reserved for 



34 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

me to penetrate to that colony in the far interior, which no 
European had visited for two centuries ! * 

In Hong Kong I became acquainted with Bishop Smith, the 
first bishop of the colony, who signed himself " George Vic- 
toria," from the official name of his see. Many years later, 
stopping at Hong Kong, we spent portions of two days at his 
" palace " on the hillside. Our Civil War was then in progress, 
and he believed that it would issue in the destruction of our 
Union — a result which he frankly avowed he desired, because 
we were " growing too great." 

Dr. Legge, of the London Mission, was a man of different 
mould. Earnest, indefatigable, and learned, while laboring 
with zeal and success in school and chapel, he translated the 
Confucian classics. That achievement obtained for him an 
appointment as professor in Oxford, where he has occupied 
his Chinese easy-chair for a score of years, after spending 
thirty as a missionary in the East. As long as his translations 
are not superseded, his name will be inseparably hnked with 
that of Confucius. 

During our stay at Hong Kong a sign-painter one morning 
climbed up and carefully erased a Chinese inscription over the 
door of Dr. Legge's church. The doctor had discovered that 
he had made a mistake in calling God Chensheii (" True Spirit " 
or *' True God ") instead of Shangti (" Supreme Ruler ") ! The 
" term controversy," after sleeping for two centuries, was thus 
showing signs of a fresh eruption. In the early period of the 
Roman Catholic missions it had raged with violence. The 
Jesuits championed Shangti; the Dominicans accused them of 
idolatry ; and the pope ordered tliat, instead of Shangti, they 
should use Tienchu (" Lord of Heaven "), a name found in 
ancient writings as one of eight minor divinities worshiped by 
the Wall-builder (240 B.C.), but so little known that it was 
regarded as practically a fresh coinage. 

* See Part II., Chapter IV. 



FIRST GLIMPSES OF CHINA 



35 



That decision was not binding on Protestants, who in trans- 
lating the Scriptures stirred up the old question. Some thought 
that the pope had made a mistake in condemning Shangti; some 
adhered to Tienchu^ while others preferred Shen or Cheiishe?i 
(" God " or " True God "). The missionaries were charged with 
wasting years in disputing about the name for God before at- 
tempting to convert the heathen. Such, however, was not the 
case : each mission went to work with its own chosen terms— 
and the Spirit of God appears to have shown no marked pref- 
erence for any, converts being as readily gathered by the use 
of one term as by another. The controversy has fortunately 
ceased without the intervention of a pope ; but uniformity of 
usage has not been attained. Will not the native church set- 
tle it some day by using all three of the disputed terms? Sir 
John Bowring, to meet the difficulty, suggested that the letter 
6, used in Greek MSS. as an abbreviation for Theos, might be 
employed as an expressive symbol, the inner stroke represent- 
ing unity and the circle eternity. It would, he said, be in har- 
mony with the picture-writing of the Chinese, and each party 
might pronounce it according to its own shibboleth. But the 
suggestion fell to the ground, hke a flower plucked from its 
stem, and died without fruit. 




'^^E^a 



^«l^ 










EXECUTION OF AN OPIUM-SMUGGLER. 



CHAPTER II 



VOYAGE UP THE COAST 



Amoy— Opening of a new cliurch — Fuchau — Buddhism — Civil-service ex- 
aminations — Fiingshiii, or geomancy— Missions — A glance at the 
map 

ON the 7th of May we embarked on the lorcha " Macao," 
Captain Jose Maria, along with a goodly company of 
missionaries, who were bound for different points on the coast. 
The Httle craft was less than a hundred tons' burden ; but that 
was her least fault— smaller boats have sometimes weathered 
a storm where larger ones have foundered. She was old and 
rotten ; but, as we were to keep near the .shore, there was rea- 
son to hope that in case of accident we might all escape to 
land " on broken pieces of the .ship." Providentially, no seri- 
ous harm befell us, though we were once dismasted, and once 
or twice in imminent danger of being cast away, for want of 
a pilot who knew the coast. 

With pirates we happily did not come in contact, though the 
seas were infested with them. These lorchas, in fact, made a 
business of pirate-hunting when they were not doing a little buc- 
caneering on their own account. The cry of " Pirates to lee- 
ward! " was indeed once raised, and, looking out, we saw a junk 
surrounded by small boats, and black with people, who were 
cutting away its sails and cordage. Captain Maria, from sheer 
habit, ordered his gunners to fire on them, but the shot flew 
wide of the mark. As we swept by, Dr. Welton, an English 

36 



VOYAGE UP THE COAST 37 

medical missionary bound for Fuchau, shouted out, in great 
excitement: "Give them another, captain!" We afterward 
twitted him on his readiness to prescribe iron pills, as well as 
on his mistaken diagnosis, since the junk, having struck a rock, 
was not a pirate at all, and the plunderers were wreckers— a 
very important difference. 

Touching at Amoy to put off a passenger (Dr. Young, a 
medical missionary from Scotland), we stopped there four or 
five days, during which time we were hospitably entertained 
by the Rev. Alexander Stronach, of the London Missionary 
Society. On Sunday, attending the dedication of a new chapel 
belonging to an American mission, I was surprised to see a large 
and orderly congregation, among whom were a few new con- 
verts. The Rev. Mr. Doty delivered a fervid discourse, in 
which the syllables Ap-ek-le-ap-han recurred so frequently that 
I supposed I had got possession of a very useful phrase. In- 
quiring as to its meaning, I was told that it was merely the 
Chinese way of pronouncing "Abraham"! 

Amoy is a flourishing port, about two hundred miles north of 
Hong Kong. Its situation is pleasant, and in the harbor there 
is the island of Kulangsu, then unoccupied, which is now the 
seat of a foreign colony. Adorned with abodes of wealth and 
luxury, it shines a gem on the bosom of the waters. Two hun- 
dred miles farther north we entered the river Min and sailed 
up to Fuchau, the capital of the province of Fu-kien, where 
four of our passengers were to find their station. The river is 
grandly picturesque, reminding one of the Hudson in the vicin- 
ity of the Catskills, with mountains, however, rising from the 
banks instead of being visible only in the background. On 
one side a series of peaks bears the name of Wuhu (" the Five 
Tigers"), and on the other stands Kushan ("Lone Moun- 
tain "), famed as the site of a Buddhist monastery. Visiting 
the monastery, I wrote some rambling verses, of which the first 
couplet ran : 



38 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

" The place where I stand is the Creator's shrine, 
For, above and around, all, all is divine;" 

and the last : 

" Vet the ' glory of man ' * is turned into shame, 
And uttereth naught but an idol's name." 

The repetition of " Omitofo," a name of Buddha, is the chief 
part of Buddhist devotion. It is not supposed that the god hears 
this, having entered Nirvana, a state of unconscious fehcity ; 
but it is prescribed in the ritual as a discipline well fitted to 
withdraw the mind from worldly thoughts. The acme of at- 
tainment nearest to Nirv^ana is to think nothing and to feel 
nothing, in which state the soul will of course enjoy perfect 
tranquillity. With such a discipline a highly intellectual clergy 
could hardly be expected. In general, the priests have 
stolid faces and eyes fixed on vacancy. Most of them are 
unable to read, the recitation of prayers being their sole duty. 
No longer doing anything to strengthen or renovate Chinese 
society. Buddhism clings to it as ivy clings to a crumbling tower, 
deriving its nourishinent from the rottenness of the structure. 

While at the monastery we were shown a tank full of large 
fish, which are in no danger from the treacherous hook ; also a 
herd of fat porkers, safe from the butcher's knife. The latter 
were reserved to die of old age — a fortune so rare for swine 
that I have never yet heard a statement of the age a pig may 
reasonably hope to attain. Compassion for brute animals is an 
amiable feature of Buddhism, as well as of Brahmanism, from 
which it is derived. With us, a mystic like St. Francis of Assisi 
may fraternize with beasts and birds, or a poet like Coleridge 
apostrophize a young ass, " I hail thee, brother." A Buddhist 
is not sure that the ass may not be his father! 

The Buddhistic doctrine of metempsychosis indisputably 
tends to lower the sense of human dignity, and if it conduces 

* A Hebraism for " the tongue." 



rOVAGE UP THE COAST 



39 



in any way (which may be doubted) to the better treatment of 
lower animals, it does so at the expense of humanity to man. 
Was not Arjuna, in the Mahabharata, encouraged to slaugh- 
ter his kindred in the opposing ranks by the suggestion that the 
" spirit changes bodies as a man doth a garment " ? "It neither 
slays nor is slain ; nor is there any essential difference between 
killing and being killed." As generally held, this doctrine is 
largely responsible for the prevalence of suicide, leading those 
who are hopelessly wretched to try their luck on another throw 
of the dice. Pictorially, the doctrine is represented by a wheel, 
or urn, from which six streams of life are seen to issue — in- 
sect, reptile, and fish from its lower half, bird, beast, and man 
from its upper portion. 




WHEEL OF FATE. 



On the hillside was a " hermitage " — not a secluded cottage 
where some meditative monk, in the shade of flowering creep- 
ers and soothed by falling waters, might woo the philosophic 
muse, but a small chamber built of rough stones, without door 
or window. It was occupied by a devotee, who was doing pen- 
ance for imaginary sins committed in a former state of exis- 
tence, and storing up imaginary merit with a view to improv- 



40 



A CYCLE OF CATHAY 



ing his condition in the next hfe. He had been immured for 
twenty-four years, the stones having been built up aroimd him. 
They seemed to cut him off from the world ; but he was still 
full of pride and avarice, and continued to carry the world in 
his heart. He never washed, and was therefore deemed very 
holy. Other priests shave the entire head ; but his locks were 
allowed to grow, and, naturally, they were " shent with 
Egypt's plague." His finger-nails, which he was fond of ex- 
hibiting, looked like filaments of ram's horn or the legs of 
an octopus ; each had a separate sheath of bamboo. Fine 
ladies in China have nails as long ; but they are sheathed 
in silver. 

FuHiau, which contains al)out 700,000 inhabitants, is the 
capital of the province of Fu-kien, and the chief center for the 
export of black teas. Standing on an undulating plain twenty- 
two miles from the sea, it is one of the cleanest and best-built 
cities to be seen on the coast of China. In order to give us a 
comprehensive view of it, some of our friends formed a party 

to make the circuit of 
the wall, not, as Bow- 
ring made it at Canton, 
on the outside, but on 
the top of the environ- 
ing structure. We were 
provided with palan- 
quins, each borne by 
two stout cooHes ; those 
who affect dignity ha\e 
usually four. To for- 
eigners the palanquins 
are indispensable as a 
shelter from heat and a relief from fatigue where liorse and car- 
riage are not available. This sage opinion, the result of experi- 
ence, was at that time so far from taking shape in my mind 




a^ 



A COMMON SEDAN. 



FOVAG£ UP THE COAST 41 

that I allowed my coolies to carry the empty chair, or " se- 
dan," as it is called, at my heels all day long, through repug- 
nance to riding on the necks of my fellow-men. A tramp of 
ten miles — the walls measure nine — helped me, however, to 
get over that scruple. 

Within the inclosure rises a hill, covered with trees and rocks, 
with here and there a small house hidden in the foliage. This 
is the palladium of the city, an elevation which draws propi- 
tious influences from the four winds and pours them down on 
the people below. The Chinese believe in this sort of geoman- 
tic influence as firmly as we do in the lightning-rod. They call 
\i fungs/itii ("wind and water"), from the elements that most 
frequently form the vehicle for good or evil luck. The notion 
probably originated in the observation that wind and water 
have much to do with commercial prosperity. But it has grown 
into a whole system of superstitious notions, as complex as the 
cabala and as pernicious as witchcraft. Our treaty contains an 
allusion to this potent system of evil in a clause which provides 
that in the purchase of a site for building " the local author- 
ities shall not interfere unless there be some objections offei-ed 
on the part of the inhabitants respecting the placed Some years 
later, English missionaries built on that hill, and the popu- 
lace became so excited lest their presence might disturb its 
good influences that they rose en masse, and demolished church, 
school-house, and dwelling. In Hangchau, a magistrate 
having died suddenly, his death was believed to have been 
caused by a mission building on a hillside overlooking the 
yanien, or official residence. The missionaries were courteously 
invited to accept another site in exchange, to which they ac- 
ceded rather than have their houses pulled about their ears. 
Instances of this kind of courtesy are too numerous to recount, 
but those just mentioned are sufficient to show what danger 
lies hidden under the nume/ungshni. It is a false science, with 
libraries to expound it and professors to teach it. Nor is any 



42 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

Chinese bold enough to build a house or dig a grave without 
calling in a professor to decide whether or not the site is 
auspicious. 

Looking over the city, the eye rested on nothing worthy of 
note in the way of architecture ; yet there was one object which 
it fixed on as illustrating the best side of Chinese civihzation. 
This was the Civil-Service Examination Hall, consisting of 
low cells, sufficient to accommodate ten thousand students, with 
larger rooms for examiners, and elevated stages for the police 
— the whole inclosed with a high wall coped with prickly thorns. 
Each city, large or small, contains a similar establishment. Not 
merely may this be taken as characteristic of the educational 
system of China ; there is, in truth, no public education apart 
from it ; for, theoretically, the government encourages educa- 
tion for no other purpose than to provide itself with a supply of 
competent officers. To this end public schools are not thought 
necessary, though a few are endowed by the government, and 
conducted under official supervision. The essential feature is 
the motive to study — an impartial offer of honors and emolu- 
ments to all whose attainments come up to a required standard. 
That standard is unfortunately defective, consisting of literature 
without science, and of Chinese literature without any hint of 
such a thing as literature existing in foreign nations. It, more- 
over, directs the student exclusively to the imitation of ancient 
models, and thus interposes an obstacle in the way of progress. 
Admirable in its grand features, this system is the slow growth 
of thousands of years ; but it needs to be inoculated (as it will 
be) with ideas from the West to adapt it to the changed con- 
ditions of modern life. The civil-service examinations, which 
are gaining ground in England, France, and the United States, 
are borrowed from the experience of the Chinese empire. Mr. 
Curzon acknowledges the obligation in this fashion : " A system 
from w^hose premonitory symptoms our own country, a tardy 
convert to Celestial ideas, is beginning to suffer." 



VOYAGE UP THE COAST 43 

England certainly has not suffered from the competitive sys- 
tem in her Indian civil service, nor in her admirable consular 
service in China, both of which are supplied from " competi- 
tion wallas." If she suffers anywhere, it is not from the sys- 
tem, but from its injudicious application. America, still more 
tardy in its adoption, is now convinced that it offers the only 
antidote for the corruptions of the spoils system. Its extension 
to an ever-widening circle is assured ; though I do not suppose 
that a time will soon come when either our military comman- 
ders or our cabinet ministers will be chosen in that way. With 
us the examinations are specialized ; in China their weakness 
is the want of special adaptation. With all their drawbacks, 
they have done more than anything else to hold China together, # 
and help her to maintain a respectable standard of civilization. 

So much of haphazard is there in the results of these con- 
tests that they are made the subject of systematic gambling. 
That circumstance also causes them to be regarded as a spe- 
cial arena for providential rewards or punishments. Students 
who are dubious as to their intellectual equipment are, as the 
day approaches, especially careful of their moral conduct. In 
lieu, however, of the weightier matters of the law, they are apt 
to substitute such humane acts as the rescue of ants that are 
struggling in the mud, the release of mice caught in a trap, or 
the restoration to their watery element of fish purchased alive 
in the market. Any one of these acts, done at the critical 
moment, inspires immense confidence, and who shall say that 
it has no effect on the result of the competition ? 

The Manchu quarter, set apart for a garrison of the ruhng 
race, is a feature to be met with in China in only a few impor- 
tant centers. It proves that the throne, won by the sword two 
hundred and fifty years ago, must be held by at least a show 
of force. It offers to the view nothing of particular interest, 
and the general panorama of city and suburbs consists of what 
may be seen in any large town of the empire— square miles of 



44 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

gray tiles, the roofs of low houses, unnumbered and innumer- 
able, the long rows of which are parted by paved paths, by 
courtesy called streets. To find anything picturesque, the eye 
has to wander away to the blue mountains rising in the dis- 
tance, or to the silvery stream winding through a richly cul- 
tivated valley. 

The Wan-sue-chiao, or "bridge of ten thousand years," a 
massive structure of rough granite, was a marvel of primitive 
engineering. We admired its rude solidity, little dreaming that 
in a short time it would be carried away by a flood, after hav- 
ing braved the fury of the elements for many a century. It 
was lined with stalls for traders on both sides of the roadway, 
such as one sees on the bridges of the Arno at Florence. 

There were Protestant missionaries of four societies laboring 
at Fuchau, namely, those of the American Board, American 
Methodist, Church of England, and Swedish Lutheran. The 
stations of the three former have their ramifications far into the 
interior, and they have gathered a large following of converts, 
now a score of thousands, in lieu of the score of individuals 
whom they counted at the date of our visit. Nor are these all 
poor and despised. One member of the Methodist Church a 
few years ago gave ten thousand dollars to found a college ; 
and the natives of the same church organized and supported 
a mission to Corea. 

The Swedish Mission was brought to an end by a tragic oc- 
currence which illustrates one of the perils to which mission- 
aries are exposed in China. The two missionaries. Fast and 
Elquist, while returning from the lower anchorage, where they 
had gone to exchange their bills for silver, were attacked by 
river-pirates. Fast discharged a pistol, and was either killed 
or drowned. His companion suffered such a shock that his 
health gave way and he retired from the field. Nor was this 
a solitary instance of what, at times, may befall the stranger. 
The Rev. Walter Lowrie, of the American Presbyterian Board, 



VOYAGE UP THE COAST 45 

was murdered by pirates near Ningpo two or three years be- 
fore, and some years later the Rev. James Williamson, of the 
London Mission, was drowned by the same class of social pests 
in the Grand Canal near Tientsin. 

As a mark of progress in the way of material renovation, I 
may mention that opposite the pagoda anchorage is now to 
be found an arsenal, naval school, and shipyard, from which a 
score or more of gunboats have been turned out and equipped. 
In 1884 the river at that point was the scene of a bloody bat- 
tle, in which the carnage was all on one side. A French squad- 
ron of five ships, on the eve of hostilities, and with the inten- 
tion of opening the ball then and there, entered the harbor and 
took up a commanding position. The Chinese commander, 
whom I knew personally, was a shallow, vainglorious civilian. 
Having eleven gunboats ready to engage them, he allowed them 
to pass the forts unchallenged, beHeving that they were wan- 
tonly leaping into the dragon's jaws ; but the French, besides 
having heavier ships and better gunners, had the advantage of 
firing the first broadside. This was feebly answered, and when 
the smoke cleared most of the Chinese vessels were seen to be 
sinking and their crews strugghng in the water. The arsenal 
was burned, and nine gunboats destroyed, with the loss of a 
thousand lives. 

At Fuchau we were entertained by Dr. and Mrs. Caleb 
Baldwin, of the American Board, who remained there long 
enough to complete their half-century of missionary life, reap- 
ing in age what they had sown in youth. After a delightful 
week on shore, we put to sea again ; but on the first day out 
our lorcha was struck by a squall ; her mainmast went over with 
a crash, and thus fortunately saved her from being capsized. 
Putting back to refit, we passed five days more with our friends, 
and then resumed our voyage, arriving at Ningpo on the 26th 
of June, having spent no less than thirty-five days at sea, grop- 
ing among the islands and inlets that fringe the coast-line. 



46 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

Throughout our voyage the landward view was bounded by a 
range of hills, rising in places to the dignity of mountains. 
Their treeless tops and furrowed, sunburnt sides gave no hint 
of the charming valleys which they inclose, nor of the popu- 
lous interior to which they serve as a bulwark. 

Before going ashore to mingle with the people, let us take 
a rapid survey of the goodly land in which they dwell. Lying 
very nearly between the same parallels as the eastern half of the 
United States, China proper covers about an equal area, enjoy- 
ing a similar range of climate and variety of productions. Her 
domain is the flower of Asia, as ours is of the American con- 
tinent. Fronting on one ocean while we look out on two, her 
coast-line is very extensive, amounting to little less than three 
thousand miles, after deducting what she has ceded to Russia. 
Through most of this distance the coast is protected by a broken 
chain of islands, four of which are something more than specks 
on the bosom of the sea. Hainan, in the extreme south, is a 
tropical garden, larger than the State of Connecticut. Its ch- 
mate is diversified by mountains and valleys, and its interior 
inhabited by savage tribes perpetually at war with the Chinese 
on the coast. 

Much the same description applies to Formosa, the " Isle of 
Beauty," as it was called by the Portuguese. But in Formosa 
everything is on a grander scale. The island is two hundred 
and fifty miles in length by eighty in breadth. It is rich in 
coal, possesses oil-springs of unknown value, and produces vast 
quantities of camphor and sugar. With a view to defending 
it against covetous neighbors, it was lately " admitted into the 
Union," not as a territory, but as a state or province, one of 
the twenty-three which constituted the organized portion of the 
empire. EngHsh and Canadian missionaries have succeeded 
in planting here a large number of flourishing churches, some 
of which are among the civilized Formosans of the interior, 
the eastern part of the island being still in the hands of aborig- 



VOYAGE UP THE COAST 47 

inal savages. Since the above was written, this gem of the 
sea has been transferred to the crown of Japan.* 

Chusan is an island of great strategic value, commanding a 
portion of the coast which is studded with inlets and great cities. 
Fifty miles in circumference, it contains eighteen fertile val- 
leys, whose productions would supply food for a large colony. 
The British took possession of it in 1841, and considering its 
many advantages, it is strange they did not think it worth 
keeping. The only trace of their transient occupation is a 
soldier cemetery, with broken gravestones. Dzungming, at 
the mouth of the Great River, will be described in another 
chapter. 

The rivers of China are her glory, and one of them her special 
" sorrow." To the eye of a physical geographer they tell the 
whole story of the interior. Their number and magnitude cor- 
respond to the number and magnitude of the mountain systems, 
where they take their rise ; their volume affords a clue to the 
area which they drain ; and their sedimentary deposit shows 
the nature of the soil through which they pass. The Pearl 
River of Canton is navigable for small boats for over a thousand 
miles, affording one of the best routes of travel to the provinces 
in the Southwest. The Great River, or Yang-tse (so called 
from the ancient province of Yangchau, and designated " the 
Blue " by the French, but never by the Chinese), is in volume 
the third river of the world. It is without a rival in the popu- 
lation to which it gives access. Rising in Tibet, it traverses 
the whole of China, receiving affluents from half the provinces, 
and pouring into the sea a mass of water many times greater 
than the Mississippi. If the Nile has made Egypt, the vast 
plain of central China is the product of the Yang-tse and its 
northern compeer, the Hoang-Ho. The Hoang-Ho, or Yellow 
River, reaches the sea after a tortuous course of nearly three 

* The best account of this fine island is that given by Dr. MacKay in 
his •' From Far Formosa" (New York: Fleming H. Revell Company). 



48 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

thousand miles from its source in the mountains of Tibet. 
Everywhere impetuous, it is of httle use for navigation, being 
full of obstructions, and fluctuating in volume from a vast flood, 
submerging plains and drowning cities, to a rivulet that hides 
itself between high banks. 

The ancient Chinese, who introduced civilization and sub- 
dued the aborigines, entered China from the northwest, follow- 
ing the course of this river. Their earhest capitals were on its 
banks, and the states renowned in ancient history were ranged 
on either side. The valley of the Yang-tse and the whole re- 
gion to the south continued, up to the Christian era, to be the 
abode of .savage tribes, which were only gradually absorbed and 
assimilated. The Yellow River is noted for its erratic changes 
of channel, at one epoch falling into the Yellow Sea on the east, 
at another finding its way to the Gulf of Pechili. At intervals 
of centuries it swings, like a huge pendulum, from the one to 
the other, a distance of five hundred miles ; or, dividing itself 
between the two channels, reduces the province of Shantung to 
an island in its enormous delta. In 1852 the river broke its 
banks and astonished the world l)y rushing away to the north. 
In 1889 its vagaries were more unprecedented, as it broke away 
toward the south and joined its waters to those of the Yang- 
tse- Kiang. The labor of bringing it back to its northern bed, 
at a cost of thirteen miUion dollars, was a triumph of hydraufic 
engineering, reflecting infinite credit on the perseverance and 
enterprise of the Chinese people. After a year of unsuccessful 
effort they called in the aid of modern appliances— the elec- 
tric light, turning night to day, and a portable railway, tran-s- 
porting materials formerly carried on the backs of coolies. 

In ancient times, as history tells us, these rivers all ran riot ; 
but their wild forces w^ere working for the welfare of genera- 
tions to come. They are still seemingly toiling to the same 
end, in driving back the sea and winning fresh fields for the 
ever-growing population. The rate at which the land is ex- 



VOYAGE UP THE COAST 49 

tended by the action of the rivers has, I beUeve, no parallel in 
any other part of the earth. 

Besides these first-class rivers and their affluents, there are 
numerous minor streams, from two to five hundred miles in 
length, which have scooped out harbors on the sea-coast, and 
which supply them with the products of extensive regions. 
With the exception of the Central Plain, which is formed by the 
alluvium of her two great streams, the whole of China is covered 
by a network of hills, which beautify the landscape and diver- 
sify the surface of the country. None reaches the snow-Hne 
except a single range in Szechuon, where the land rises toward 
the frontier of Tibet. Mount Ome, in the same province, 
which rises to the height of ii,ooo feet, is sacred to Buddha. 
The Dragon and Tiger mountains, in Kiangsi, about half that 
altitude, are sacred to Taoism. The Taishan, in Shantung, is 
a high place of the state rehgion ; while Wutai, in Chihli, is 
devoted to Lamaism. 

Vast and varied are the mineral treasures buried in these 
mountain masses awaiting the dawn of an enlightened policy 
to make China one of the richest nations on earth. Except 
in her outlying dependencies (notably in Manchuria), she has 
but little gold or silver ; but her coal-measures probably exceed 
those of any nation in the world, assuring to her the elements 
of power when the mineral resources of Europe are exhausted. 
The same hills that yield coal and iron contain extensive pro- 
vision for electric force in their numberless waterfalls. Her 
population, which is not far short of four hundred millions,* 
bears witness not only to the fecundity of the people, but to 
the fertihty of her soil and the salubrity of her climate. In the 
North, millet, wheat, and Indian corn are the principal cereals, 

* If any one desires to obtain the most reliable information as to the 
distribution of this immense mass of human life, he will find it in Appen- 
dix A, together with some amusing facts in regard to the Chinese mode 
of dealing with their census. Tables relating to trade, etc., are added. 



50 



A CYCLE OF CATHAY 



while rice is the staple of central and southern China. Cot- 
ton and sugar-cane thrive in the South, and tea and silk are 
cultivated in two thirds of the provinces. Nearly all the fruits 
of the tropics, as well as those of the temperate zones, flourish 
in China. Forming a world in herself, and producing all that 
her people require, she would stand in little need of foreign 
commerce, were it not for the superior skill of Europeans in 
the industrial arts. 






■■» ^ 











{RIGATING RICE-FIELUS. 



CHAPTER III 

LEARNING THE LANGUAGE 

Two forms and many dialects — Musical tones — Reducing a dialect to 
writing — Classical studies — " Pidgin-English" 

NINGPO, like the other seaports, is not on the sea, but 
tvveh'e miles inland, at the junction of two streams which 
form the river Yung ; a smaller town, according to Chinese 
fashion, being situated at the river's mouth. The name does 
not signify, as generally stated, " peaceful wave," but the '* city 
that gives peace to the waves " ; the place being a fortress des- 
tined to hold sea-robbers in check. 

The approach to the city is imposing. At the mouth of the 
river a rocky island, surmounted by a fortified monastery and 
girt with batteries, bars the entrance. On the northern side 
stretches the crenelated wall of Chinhai (the " Defense of the 
Sea "), a district city subordinate to the prefecture of Ningpo. 
On the other side, a range of hills, green with groves of fir, 
forms the boundary of a fertile plain, intersected by innumer- 
able canals, which serve the double purpose of irrigation and 
transport. 

AU Chinese cities are walled, like those of Europe in the 
middle ages, suggesting a state of society in which the pred- 
atory elements are rife. Politically, they are divided into 
three orders ; namely, chief cities of provinces, departments or 
prefectures, and districts — the last being of three classes : cho^ 
ting, Men J but a more simple division is into mud walls, brick 

51 



52 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

walls, and stone walls. Ningpo belongs to the latter class ; 
its wall, twenty or thirty feet high and six miles in circuit, con- 
structed of huge blocks of granite, gray with age and covered 
with creepers, but still in good repair, wears a venerable aspect, 
in harmony with the hills that rise in the background. On the 
top it is broad enough for a carriage drive ; but it is never used 
for that purpose, nor even for walking, except by beggars, sol- 
diers, and missionaries. In later years, when health required, 
I hired a soldier's horse and rode on the wall— the narrowness 
of the streets, unlike those of northern cities, not admitting of 
equestrian exercise. 

We were received at Ningpo by the Rev. M. S. Culbertson, 
who, a few days later, removed to Shanghai to take part in 
translating the Scriptures, leaving us, in deep water, to sink 
or swim. We had, it is true, his house to shelter us and his 
servants to wait on us, but no words in which to express our 
wants. The first word we learned in the dialect of Ningpo 
was zabati (" fire-wood "), the cook having brought in a stick 
to make us understand that he wished to buy some. The 
next was fajiping (" dollar "), which he represented by form- 
ing his fingers into a ring and pointing to the wood, the 
connection being sufficiently obvious. A teacher was found 
for us who knew not a word of English, and our only key 
to all his lore was the phrase keh-z-soh-go i-sze (" What does 
that mean? "), with which we were kindly suppHed by a mis- 
sionary friend. Beginning with object-lessons, he said some- 
thing about wongki^ which not being quite clear, he brought 
in a little dog, saying, ''There it is," and burst into a fit of 
laughter at the thought that anybody could be so stupid as not 
to know woJigki. Sometimes mimicry sufficed for explanation, 
as, for instance, when he ran back and forth, puffing and blow- 
ing, to make us understand that hohmgtsaiv meant a railway 
train. As this teacher was unequal to the strain of imparting 
knowledge in this fashion through a whole day, I employed an 



'\> 



LEARNING THE LANGUAGE 53 

auxiliary, who enabled me to continue my studies in the after- 
noon and evening. In a few days the mists began to rise, and 
our further progress, from an irksome task, became a fascinat- 
ing pastime. My wife was my companion in study, keeping 
well up in the race until handicapped by family cares. She 
succeeded, however, in acquiring a good command of the local 
dialect, and found time to use it in winning to Christ some of 
the native women. 

The spoken language of China is divided into a babel of dia- 
lects : those of the North and West forming one group, based 
on the Mandarin or court dialect ; while those of the Southeast 
differ as widely as do the languages of southwestern Europe. 
As French and Spanish took shape under the influence of the 
original speech of Celt and Vandal, so these dialects point back 
to aboriginal tribes absorbed by the more civihzed Chinese. 
This conjecture is borne out by the fact of a marked difference 
in physiognomy, e.g., between high cheek-bones at Fuchau 
and the oval faces seen at Ningpo. One or two words may 
suffice to show the extent of these dialectic variations. Man 
is in Peking jin; in Shantung, yin; at Shanghai, nieng; at 
Ningpo, ning; at Fuchau, lojig; at Canton, jv?;/. Tide is in 
Peking r//Wy at Shanghai, dzaw; at Ningpo, dziao; at Swatow, 
tie. Some of the dialects are soft, others harsh, the Ningpo 
being among the more mellifluous. So great is this difference 
that a proverb says : 

"I'd rather take a scolding at Suchao 
Than listen to a love-song at Siao [scil., Siaoshan]." 

Through all the series runs a diatonic scale, with three or at 
most four tones in the North ; a gamut of a full octave in the 
Southeast ; and in the central region, about Ningpo, only one 
or two tones that require attention. Three of these tones 
(those heard at Peking) may be illustrated, according to Sir 
T. F. Wade, by the statement, "James is dead ;" the question. 



54 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

" Is he dead? " and the answer, " He is dead." The difference 
between ground-nuts and ground nuts (ground in a mill) may 
also help to comprehend a distinction which it requires an edu- 
cation to perceive. How essential it is to intelligibihty may 
be gathered from an experience of an English friend, who once 
sojourned at Fuchau. After studying the language for a 
month or two, he one morning directed his cook to buy eigh- 
teen yangmi, a plum-like fruit, called arbutus. To his surprise 
the man came home panting under a load of sheep's tails— the 
heavy fat tails of a certain breed being much prized — and ex- 
cused himself for being late by saying that he had walked the 
streets all day, but had only been able to find twelve. They 
wtre yangfui^ as well as the fruit, but there was a difference in 
tone. 

By way of further explanation I may mention the follow- 
ing : In Peking I one day sent an attendant from the college 
to the Board of Foreign Affairs, to inquire, as was my wont, 
which of the Chinese ministers were there. Coming back in a 
few minutes, he made his report in three syllables, or one syl- 
lable in three tones : " IInc> -, Hnc ^, Heiu *." Simply this and 
nothing more ; for, as it happened, out of nine members there 
were only those three present. Why Providence so ordered it 
I cannot divine, unless it was to supply me with this illustra- 
tion. The Ningpo dialect being unwritten, and incapable of 
expression by Chinese characters, which, being ideographic in 
their nature, have a very uncertain phonetic value, we were re- 
duced to the necessity of representing it as best we might by 
some application of the ever-accommodating roman alphabet. 

With no book or vocabulary to guide me— the Ningpo mis- 
sionaries not having published anything of the sort — I was left 
to form my own system. I took the German, or rather Conti- 
nental, vowels as the basis, and, with a few modifications, soon 
arrived at a mode of notation which enabled me to reproduce 
what I had written down from the lips of my teacher. The 



LEARNING THE LANGUAGE 55 

idea struck me of teaching him to write in the same way ; and 
this was easily done, as we had got a new teacher of quick ap- 
prehension, by the name of Lu. In a day or two he was able 
to write separate words, and a week later I received from him 
a neatly written note inviting us to take a " tiffin," or noonday 
meal, at his house. Its lucidity and simplicity dehghted me, 
and I exhibited it rather ostentatiously at the breakfast-table. 
A missionary physician, who had been seven years at the sta- 
tion and held the post of Sir Oracle, withered me with the sneer 
that if he had taught a native to produce such a thing as that 
he '* should not think he had done a haoze^' or work of merit. 
I next showed it to Messrs. Cobbold, Russell, and Gough, of 
the English Church Mission, visiting each in succession and ex- 
plaining the system by which I proposed to teach the natives 
to write with roman letters. They received me with the warm- 
est sympathy ; admitted the full force of the fact that one native 
had been taught to write in this way, and drew from it all the 
consequences which it seemed to justify. Before the sun had 
set on that to me memorable day, in January, 185 1, we had 
formed a society for the purpose of fixing a definitive system 
for the writing of the " Ningpo colloquial." Other missionaries 
fell in with the movement one by one, and, last of all, the good 
doctor who had given my overture such an ungracious recep- 
tion made amends by zealous and fruitful cooperation. 

The next step was the preparation and printing of books. 
Causing a set of letters to be engraved on separate pieces of 
horn, I taught a young man to use them in stamping the pages 
of a primer. This was roughly engraved on wood, in the Chi- 
nese manner, called " block-printing," and deserves to be men- 
tioned as the germ of a new literature, which, though restricted 
as yet to the use of the missions in that region, has proved 
itself highly beneficial. 

The Chinese saw with astonishment their children taught to 
read in a few days, instead of spending years in painful toil, 



56 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

as they must with the native characters. Old women of three- 
score and ten, and iUiterate servants and laborers, on their con- 
version, found by this means their eyes opened to read in their 
own tongue wherein they were born the wonderful works of 
God. So manifest were the advantages of the new system that 
at one time I imagined it would spread among the non-Chris- 
tian Chinese. Up to the present date this expectation has not, 
however, been realized, but a similar experiment has been suc- 
cessfully tried at Amoy and Shanghai. 

It ought to be tried on the Mandarin dialect, \vhich is current 
through more than half the empire, though, this being written 
with Chinese characters, there is no urgent necessity for seek- 
ing another vehicle. If the experiment were satisfactory — and 
it could hardly be otherwise — who knows but some enlightened 
emperor might give it countenance, and make the Chinese lan- 
guage, as written with roman characters, a medium for pub- 
lic instruction? Indeed, the Mongol Kublai Khan is said to 
have attempted something of the sort ; but for success in such 
an undertaking imperial power is not the sole requisite. 

The Ningpo dialect, though pleasant to the ear and easy of 
acquisition, is limited in territorial extent, being confined to a 
radius of fifty miles and a population of one or two miUions, 
of whom three hundred thousand live in the city and suburbs. 
In the South it shades off through cognate dialects into the 
polytonic group of Fu-kien ; and in the North and West into 
the harsher aspirations of the Mandarin family. 

In applying our new mode of wTiting, each syllable is divided 
into initial and final, the syllable fiing being, for instance, 
spelled n-ing ; hang, h-ang ; lofig, 1-ong, etc. ; the final, in 
every case, being regarded as a simple vowel, like a in ba. 
The new alphabet consists, therefore, of a series of initials and 
finals, less than fifty in number, and when these are acquired 
their combination in spelling is as simple as a word of two let- 
ters. This ingenious simphfication M^as introduced by Messrs. 



LEARNING THE LANGUAGE 57 

Cobbold and Russell, who borrowed it from a rough kind of 
spelling found in Chinese dictionaries, for which the Chinese 
in turn are indebted to the Buddhists of India. The Emperor 
Kanghi, in his personal memoirs, prides himself on its intro- 
duction. Here are two lines of an ode for children, written 
by Dr. McCartee, and printed in the roman letter (the sylla- 
bles are numbered to aid comparison) : 

" Lae ng-la keh-pan siao-siao nying, 
123 45 

Ngo iao tch ng-la wo ih sing." 
123 4567 

" Come, all ye little ones, I pray; 
13245 
I have a word to you to say." 
126734 5 

One of the most useful books prepared in the colloquial 
tongue was a hymn-book compiled by the Rev. H. V. Rankin. 
I contributed two or three hymns, that continue to be favorites ; 
but the majority were made by my brother, who was gifted with 
a rare facility in versification. To learn to speak the Ningpo, 
or indeed any dialect of Chinese, is a simple affair in compari- 
son with the reading of the learned language as it is found in 
the native books. Addressed to the eye rather than to the ear, 
this learned style is, as Dr. Medhurst said, an occulage, not a 
language. Its words, of which five or six thousand are in com- 
mon use, are represented each by a distinct symbol. So arbi- 
trary and vague are the relations between them as to make any 
system of classification incomplete, and convert the task of ac- 
quisition into a dead lift of memory. It began in picture-writ- 
ing, but, like the Egyptian, soon passed into a phonetic stage, 
though it remains in a state of arrested development, without 
an alphabet. 

With the local dialect I was compelled to begin in order 



$8 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

to put myself in communication with the people, as well as to 
find my way into the higher mysteries of this ideographic sys- 
tem, which I shall call the " book-language." In six months 
I made an attempt at preaching. Mr. Rankin proposing to 
open the exercises with prayer, I did not object, but said 1 could 
hardly ask the Lord to convert anybody by means so feeble. 
In another six months I had acquired a free command of a 
pretty large vocabulary. In the third half-year was composed 
my first and perhaps my best hymn, beginning. To dzing todzing 
Tien- Vu Tsing-Jing. 

One objection to the new mode of writing the colloquial was 
its tendency to divert missionaries from the study of the ancient 
books. On others it may have had that effect, but not on me. 
Within three months of my arrival, i.e., as soon as I could under- 
stand the explanations of a native teacher, I applied myself with 
vigor to the study of the book-language. From religious tracts 
and native story-books, I entered on the classics, completing 
within the first five years the reading of the nine chief works 
which form the basis of Chinese literature. But for distrac- 
tions, incident to active duty, I might have accomplished this 
in a shorter time. 

Within this period I began to employ the learned or classic 
language for the purpose of composition, and wrote in it the 
Tien-tao Su-yiien (a book on the Evidences of Christianity), 
which has been widely circulated and often reprinted both in 
China and in Japan. It has, I believe, led to tlie conversion 
of many among the educated classes. Deo soli gloria! 

Of the nine classics above referred to, five relate to pre-Con- 
fucian times, that is, prior to the sixth century B.C. Four con- 
tain the personal teachings of Confucius and his disciples. 
Native Christians can hardly be blamed if they discover in these 
two collections a fanciful analogy to the Five Books of Moses 
and the Four Gospels, relating, as they do, to something like 
an earlier and a later dispensation. In contrast, however, with 



LEARNING THE LANGUAGE 59 

our Holy Scriptures, the religious element in them is so faint 
and feeble as to suggest the aurora borealis rather than the life- 
giving sunshine. They recognize, under the names of Shangti 
and Tie?!., a Supreme Power, who presides over the destinies 
of men and dispenses rewards and punishments ; but they do 
not inculcate the worship of that august Being. He is conse- 
quently forgotten by the people, and his place is usurped by 
idols. Yet so pure are the moral teachings of these ancient 
writings that no nation, with one exception, ever received from 
antiquity a more precious heritage. While some of the Sacred 
Books of the Hindus are unfit for translation, in the Chinese 
canon there is nothing to offend the most delicate sense of 
propriety. Referring to the nine works seriatim^ I may give 
a paragraph to each. 

1. The "Book of History" consists of fragments (more or 
less modified by redaction) treating of the first three dynasties ; 
and, prior to the first (b.c. 2200), of a golden age, in which 
the throne was not strictly hereditary, but the prize of merit — 
good kings passing over their own offspring to adopt worthier 
successors. 

2. The " Book of Changes," supposed to date from 2800 
B.C., is esteemed an abyss of wisdom so profound that no for- 
eigner (and, some would add, no Chinese) can hope to under- 
stand it. Without professing to understand it, I have no hesi- 
tation in saying that, under the guise of science, it is an absurd 
system of divination, and that it has done more than any other 
book to impose on the Chinese mind the fetters of obstructive 
superstition. It is to-day the text-book of fortune-tellers of 
every description, as it was four thousand years ago. 

3. The " Book of Odes," an anthology of primitive poetry, 
which had its origin from 600 to 11 00 B.C. Invaluable as a 
picture of life and manners, there is little in it to suggest the 
fire and fancy of the Greek muse, and nothing resembling the 
sublime poetry of the Hebrews. " You should read the ' Book 



6o A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

of Odes,' " said Confucius to his son, " and you will learn the 
names of many birds, beasts, and vegetables." 

4. The " Annals of Lu," compiled by Confucius, and charm- 
ingly amplified by his disciple Tso. This work is the recog- 
nized model for historic composition. 

5. The " Book of Rites," a collection of court etiquette, 
social usages, and religious ritual, which has had a great in- 
fluence in moulding the manners of the Chinese people. It 
has made them the most ceremonious nation on earth. 

The later collection, called the Four Books, is the New Tes- 
tament of China, though it resembles the Talmud rather than 
the Gospels. 

1. The "Analects or Sayings of Confucius," which form 
the most important part of it, are so wise and good that many 
of them have passed into the current language in the form of 
proverbs. The Sage's most remarkable utterance is a negative 
statement of the golden rule — answering exactly to that given 
in the Book of Tobit, iv. 16.* 

2. The " Great Study " — instructions for rulers how to ac- 
complish the " renovation of their people." They are taught to 
begin by " renewing themselves " after the example of a good 
emperor who inscribed on his wash-basin the words : " Daily 
renew thyself." With such precepts and such examples, is it 
not strange that social regeneration is the last thing desired 
by the Chinese? 

3. The "Just Mean." This is a theory of virtue, as the 
mean between extremes of excess and defect — eloquently set 
forth by the Sage's grandson, for whom the Sage himself serves 
as a perfect model. 

4. " Discourses of Mencius," the St. Paul of the Confucian 
school, who, born a hundred and eighty years later than Con- 
fucius, revived his doctrines and gave them currency. He 
preached the principles of his master with the zeal of an apos- 

* Quod ab alio oderis, vide ne tu alteri facias. 



LEARNING THE LANGUAGE 6i 

tie, and rebuked vice in high places with the courage of a 
Hebrew prophet. 

Building on this fair foundation, the Chinese have, in the 
course of twenty-three centuries, erected a magnificent struc- 
ture. Its leading sections are : 

1. Histories vast in extent and containing an unparalleled 
wealth of recorded facts. India has nothing to compare with 
them. 

2. Philosophers, acute and daring in speculation, but by no 
means scientific in method. 

3. Poets, nearly all of the lyric order, some of whom may 
challenge comparison with those of Greece or Rome. 

4. Novelists, who developed the modern novel a thousand 
years before its appearance in our horizon. 

Will not this colossal literature, in which is mirrored the life 
of one of the grandest divisions of the human race, some day 
claim a place in our seats of learning? 

The following will serve to exemplify the origin of Chinese 
writing, and the manner in which pictures of objects came to ex- 
press attributes. 

TABLE OF CHINESE CHARACTERS. 

aJi^ the sun, its outHne proving that the Chinese knew 
how to square the circle a long time ago. Does not the 
dot inside indicate that there are spots on the sun, a fact 
which the Chinese were among the first to observe? 
-^ Yuih, the moon, not taken at the full, because that might 
\X be confused with the sun, but in her ordinary state of 
"^ incompleteness, the curved lines, as in other characters, 
being made angular to suit the modern pencil. 
J^ Ji?i, man, the prince of bipeds, his head being omitted 
^^ as of no great importance. 

^I* Muh, a tree or wood, its branches, by the rule of con- 
^1^^ traries, turning down instead of up. 



62 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

P*1 Mu/i, a gate. ^L Kung^ a bow. 



% 



Chii, a wheeled vehicle. Seen from above, the wheels 
are projected as lines, and the body as a square. 



Kou, mouth. 



^^ 



Ming^ bright ; an idea suggested by combining the two 
brightest objects. 



fcy Tan^ morning ; from the sun rising out of the sea. 
"Sf SiJi, evening ; from the moon, slightly varied. 

J/»| r//V//, prisoner; a man shut up by four walls. 



^ 



Liu, grove, forest ; from trees standing together. 



-^^T* Kin, to forbid ; from two trees and the verb " to show." 

Lan, to desire or covet ; a woman under two trees. 

This and the preceding, say the Jesuit fathers, point back 
to the garden of Eden! 

Kill, family ; a pig under shelter, as a sign of settled life. 




% 

lv||1 Weil, to hear. VvL^ 



\Vc7i, to ask. 



These last, like most Chinese characters, consist of two 
parts, a phonetic and a radical ; the former giving the approxi- 
mate sound, the latter the sense in general. In one is a mouth, 



LEARNING THE LANGUAGE C3 

in the other an ear, to differentiate the meaning of similar 
sounds now marked by different tones, but anciently identical. 



Yin, to draw or lead, as a string does a bow. 

HiDig, to rumble or roar, hke many chariots ; hence, to 
bombard. 

These examples afford a hint of the charm attaching to the 
study of Chinese characters ; tracing them from the simple 
germ of object-pictures through the complex combinations by 
which they form all the parts of speech and express all the 
concepts of the mind. But I am here not writing a grammar 
or a lexicon. 

One day a Chinaman addressed me on this wise: "Assay! 
spose wanchee tail pidgin? " Here was a lingo I had never 
learned. What could he mean? Had he pigeons for sale? 
They count fish by the tail as we count cows by the head — 
did they count birds in the same way? By dint of question- 
ing I found out that he desired to know whether I had any 
work for a tailor: "I say! suppose you want tailor business 
done, here I am." He was speaking "pidgin-English," a 
lijigua franca much employed in the open ports as a substitute 
for Chinese. It grew up at Canton from the practice of learn- 
ing English without a master— the little manuals prepared by 
the natives giving sounds incorrectly and syntax not at all. 
The following specimens may help the reader to form an idea 
of it; but should any one go to China he will find to his 
cost that pidgin-English, like any other language, requires 
time and attention to speak it correctly, not to say with ele- 
gance. 

Master (hearing music in next house). Boy! what for 
makee too muchee bobbery that side? 



64 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

Servant. He cachee one piecee bull chilo (he is celebrating 
the birth of a son). 

Master. That piecee boat, what for have got eye? 

Servant. No got eye, how can see? No can see, how can 
sabby (know the way)? (N. B. All Chinese junks are pro- 
vided with eyes.) 

Master (concerned for the spiritual welfare of the heathen). 
Spose you learn joss pidgin (religion) all right : be number one, 
good man ; makee die can go topside (to heaven) chopchop 
(quickly). 

The British and Foreign Bible Society have published the 
Scriptures in the negro-English of Jamaica; will they not 
consider the advisabihty of giving the Chinese an edition in 
pidgin- English? 

Here is a verse of Longfellow's " Excelsior," which will 
serve to show its adaptation to psalmody : 

" That nightee time begin chop-chop. 
One young man walkee ; no can stop. 
Maskee de snow ; maskee de ice! 
He carry flag wid chop so nice — 
Topside galow." 



CHAPTER IV 

SCENES IN NINGPO 

The new church — Natives seeking a lost soul — Well disposed; why ? — 
Study of Mandarin — Tried converts — Chapel preaching — Casting 
out a devil— Idol processions — Theatricals for the gods— The Chinese 
drama — Eyeless deities — Releasing a prisoner — Military antics 

ON the river-bank opposite the city stood a row of pretty 
bungalows — dwellings and schools of the Presbyterian 
Mission. The site was breezy and supposed to be healthier 
than the interior of the city ; yet, when the question of a house 
for myself and family came up, I decided in favor of the city. 
I wished to be near the people ; the English Church mission- 
aries were there ; and what they could stand, we could. My 
colleagues remonstrated, and refused to build us a house within 
the walls ; but my wife and I, not to be turned from our pur- 
pose, agreed to accept a small building attached to our new 
church, intended for a native catechist. There I spent six 
years, the most fruitful of my life ; and there I came to know 
the people as I could not had I been content to view them at 
a distance. 

The church was erected by the joint contribution of a 
" Brother and Sister," the Lenoxes of New York. Its foun- 
dations were laid about the time of our arrival, and I took my 
turn with other members of the mission in standing as watch- 
man on the walls of Zion, to see that our Chinese contractors 
did not fill in with wood, hay, and stubble, instead of solid 
brick. 

65 



66 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

This edifice, designed by the Rev. M. S. Culbertson, having 
a handsome portico with Corinthian cohanns, excited so pow- 
erfully the curiosity of the natives that an enterprising artist 
found it worth while to circulate a representation of it engraved 
on wood, and labeled the " New Bell-Tower." Crowds came 
to see it, and when it was nearly completed they were freely 
admitted to inspect the inside, in order to prevent or allay 
suspicion. 

Early one Sunday morning a mob came thundering at our 
gate, demanding admission to the church. This time they were 
actuated by motives more serious than curiosity. A weeping 
mother led the way ; and when I inquired what she wanted, 
she replied that her little boy " had lost his soul in the church 
the day before, and she wished access to the interior to look 
for it." The child, who had been playing there, had, on going 
home, been taken with a sudden fever (from exposure to the 
sun, perhaps), and was then delirious. In delirium the rational 
soul is supposed to be absent, and in this case its absence was 
ascribed to a fright caused by looking up to the height of the 
edifice, or down from some elevation to which the boy had 
climbed. The soul, according to the poor woman's beHef, was 
still hovering in the hall like a bewildered bird. Entering the 
church with a bundle of the boy's garments, they prayed the 
an'unula vagula to perch on the bundle and return to its rest- 
ing-place. This done, they departed, firmly persuaded that 
they had captured the fugitive soul. 

The people of Ningpo were well disposed toward us, because, 
as they said, they had " experienced kind treatment at the hands 
of the British during the war." The city being occupied after 
a battle at the mouth of the river, the inhabitants were aston- 
ished to be protected instead of pillaged. Before the battle 
they were in mortal terror— in dread of the "red-haired bar- 
barians," and in equal dread of their own soldiers. They were 
never tired of telling how Dr. Gutzlaff, formerly a missionary 



SCENES IN NINGPO 67 

at Hong Kong, had been installed in the yamen of the prefect, 
and how careful he was to see justice done, so that if a soldier 
bagged a fowl it had to be brought back or paid for. Not 
only did this state of feeling make it safe and pleasant for us 
to promenade the streets— it opened to us the doors of many 
families. 

A man of wealth invited us to preach in his house. He 
was a Confucianist, by no means so tolerant of idolatry as 
most of his sect. He had heard, he said, that we were carry- 
ing on a crusade against idols, and he desired us to persuade 
the women of his household to give up the worship of Bud- 
dha and cease to frequent idol temples. Official proclama- 
tions are often issued forbidding women to visit the temples ; 
and a book, composed by an emperor, exhorts them to desist 
from the practice; but neither -threats nor persuasions seem 
to have any effect. Nor on this occasion were our teachings 
more efficacious. 

Our house was always open to visitors, strangers from five 
different provinces sometimes meeting in our parlor at one 
time. We were surrounded by yamens, the residences of offi- 
cials, many of whom made polite calls ; while the ladies ex- 
changed visits with my wife. For society of this kind I soon 
found the local dialect inadequate, and took up the study of 
Mandarin, which is not merely the speech of court and officers, 
but a common medium for people of various regions. Its ac- 
quisition was easy, as the Ningpo is closely related to it— so 
closely, in fact, that a Ningpo man always speaks it badly be- 
cause he does not take the trouble to study it. My Mandarin 
teacher became a Christian, and afterward did good service in 
carrying the gospel to the North. 

Our teacher Lu, from whom we had learned the local dia- 
lect, also learned from us the way of salvation, and became a 
preacher. His wife, a refined and handsome woman, first fol- 
lowed him into the fold of Christ, then a sister, and last of all 



68 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

his mother, a devout Buddhist, who had bitterly opposed his 
change of faith. " Wait," she said, when her consent was 
asked, " until I am dead, and then you may burn my bones if 
you wish ; but, while I hve, keep clear of the foreign religion." 
Lu was neither strong nor courageous, but very sincere ; and 
God gave him grace in this instance to break the bond of filial 
piety, which in China so often stands in the way of piety to 
God. There is many a would-be convert who says to the mis- 
sionary : "Suffer me first to go and bury my father." It is 
pleasing to be able to relate that the son's prayers prevailed, 
and that the old lady became as zealous for Christ as she had 
been for Buddha. 

Two other converts brought into the church about the same 
time were Dzing and Zia ; the former a man whom I employed 
in the printing of romanized Chinese, the other a friend of 
his. Both had been devout in their way, leading a life of vir- 
tue according to their light, and striving to store up merit by 
the practice of religious rites. 

The case of Zia merits a fuller notice. Obtaining his first 
notions of Christianity from his friend, he came to me as an 
inquirer, but in a frame of mind very different from that of 
most so-called inquirers. He was pugnacious and acute in 
argument but withal reasonable, and open to conviction. He 
came alone, and, Nicodemus-hke, at night, bringing with him 
a written statement of his doubts and queries. One evening, 
instead of this he handed me a letter addressed to his elder 
brother, who held a lucrative office at the army headquarters. 
It ran thus : " For more than three months I have been exam- 
ining into the religion of Jesus. Having pHed the missionary 
with hard questions, all of which he has answered to my satis- 
faction, I know that it is true, and I am resolved to be a Chris- 
tian." His brother made no serious opposition ; but the family 
of his fiancee broke off the engagement without returning the 
betrothal presents, a circumstance which tested his firmness in 



SCEA^ES IN NINGPO 69 

no small degree, especially, he said, as he " had heard that the 
young lady was good-looking." More serious yet, his employ- 
ers (he was clerk in a china-shop) threatened to dismiss him ; 
and, most serious of all, his mother threatened to give him a 
beating. He manfully withstood this threefold form of temp- 
tation, sacrificed his bride, gave up his business, and took the 
beating, rather than renounce Christ. On the morning of his 
baptism, his mother, failing to move him by threats or entreat- 
ies, came to beg me, for a mother's sake, to withhold the rite. 
Without yielding to her request, I succeeded in mollifying her 
feelings. This bold confessor I put in charge of a school where 
he pursued a course in Christian theology while instructing his 
pupils. He subsequently became, and continues to be, one 
of the most successful of a large circle of native pastors, pos- 
sessing in a high degree " grace, grit, and gumption," the three 
qualities which the Rev. Griffith John lays down as essential 
to the success of a missionary. 

These young converts had to be examined for admission to 
a church of which I was not pastor, and their answers touch- 
ing the mystery of the hypostatic union of persons in the Trin- 
ity came very near getting their instructor into trouble. Their 
statements were objected to as smacking of Sabellianism, which 
in them was imputed to ignorance, but in me was denounced 
as error. Two members of the Shanghai Mission, hearing of 
my heresy, addressed me letters of expostulation. One was 
from my friend Culbertson, and in tone was so moderate and 
rational that we were able to exchange a good many epistles 
without exhausting the subject or our stock of good-temper. 

One advantage of my residence within the walls was the op- 
portunity it afforded for conducting evening meetings in our 
city chapels. The smaller of these chapels, with seats for two 
hundred, was often crowded with an audience consisting mostly 
of artisans, who after their day's work came in to hear an ex- 
position of one of our Lord's wonderful parables. As they 



70 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

went away I more than once heard them say to one another, 
" That discourse was better than a theatrical." 

In the larger chapel, or church, as we called it, my audience 
was more select. It consisted in part of educated men, some 
of whom were teachers and preachers in the service of other 
missions. Feeling the want of a work on Christian apologetics 
or evidences, I resolved to make one, the Tien-tao Sii-yueii 
mentioned in Chapter III. Arranging the topics in my own 
mind, I made them the subject of my evening discourses — not 
merely presenting my views, but discussing them with my hear- 
ers. Each morning I put into shape the matter which had 
been rendered warm and malleable by the discussion of the 
previous evening. I followed no authority, translated no page 
of any text-book, and rarely, if ever, referred to one in the 
course of my lectures. Matter and form grew out of the occa- 
sion, the result being a live book, adapted to the taste as well 
as to the wants of the Chinese. 

One evening before service, going into a school-room above 
the chapel, I noticed a rusty sword hanging on the wall. 

" Whose is it," I asked, "and why is it here?" 

" It belongs to one of my friends," said the chapel-keeper; 
" I borrowed it to frighten away an evil spirit. The spirits, I 
am told, are afraid of a knife that has been stained with 
human blood." 

" But what have you to do \\\\\\ evil spirits?" 

" I am not much troubled in that way myself, but my sis- 
ter-in-law is grievously tormented by one that pays her a visit 
every evening. Thinking a devil would not dare to enter the 
house of God, we brought her in here last night, and hung the 
sword on the wall." 

"And did the spirit stay away? " 

" No, not altogether; but he seemed afraid, and did not vex 
her much." 

" No wonder," said I ; "your faith was not strong enough. 



SCENES nv NINGPO 



71 



You and your sister-in-law ought to have trusted in God and 
not in a rusty sword." 

I then went to see the patient, a pretty young woman of 
twenty-five, and finding that she needed medicine as well as 
instruction, I gave her a dose of castor-oil. 

Inquiring a few days later, I was told that the evil spirit had 
not come again, * being put to flight by the bad smell of the 
medicine," as, in the Book of Tobit, Asmodeus flies from the 
smell of fish-gall. This was my first and last experience in 
casting out a devil. 

At Ningpo a divinity much worshiped, because feared, is the 
thunder-god. While I was there a poet of local repute com- 
posed a commentary on the ritual 
for his service — as an expiation 
for the crime of publishing im- 
moral verses, and to ward off his 
dreaded bolts. 

In all the cities of China ex- 
cept Peking, idol processions are 
frequent, and sometimes they are 
splendid and costly. In the cap- 
ital they are forbidden, through 
fear that they might be made 
to cover an insurrection. Else- 
where they are occasionally pro- 
hibited, but for the most part they are encouraged by the 
ofiicials, as gratifying a taste for spectacles and tending to 
divert the public mind from politics. At Ningpo the most 
popular is that in honor of the dragon. An immense effigy of 
painted silk is borne by hundreds of men, whose heads are con- 
cealed beneath its scaly folds as they wind through the narrow 
streets, presenting more the aspect of a huge centipede than 
the flying monster it is supposed to represent. This is followed 
by a troop of fairies floating in the air ; each fairy being a Hv- 




THE THUNDER-GOD HURLING DEATH- 
BOLTS. 



72 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

ing girl, often of great beauty, and gorgeously attired, supported 
by a framework of wires so contrived as to be invisible. These 
are followed by all sorts of objects, rare and strange. In one 
instance a pair of turkeys, borrowed from the British consul, 
were seen in the parade. By these shows the gods are thought 
to be propitiated, as also by theatrical performances. Every 
temple is provided with a stage directly in front of the idols, 
which are regarded as the chief spectators ; though as the 
meats offered to them provide a feast for the people, so theat- 
ricals given to the gods are enjoyed gratis by the populace. 

Spectators are expected to stand, as there are seldom any 
seats in a temple. Whether they listen depends, therefore, as 
much on their muscular endurance as on the drawing-power 
of the troupe. Whether sung like an opera or declaimed, as 
usual, in a strange dialect, the play would be unintelligible but 
for the costumes and acting. Still it exercises a strange fas- 
cination, and, being almost always historical, it serves to teach 
history and to inculcate virtue, as much as in ancient Greece, 
where 

" To purify with pity and with dread, 
Sage tragedy her moral lesson spread." 

Lascivious plays are, however, not unknown ; and partly on 
that account, but more because of lewd practices connected 
with the theater, women are not permitted to appear on the 
boards or to look at the spectacle. Theatricals in private 
houses are, however, exempt from official censorship. China 
has her Garrick and Kemble, but no Siddons or Bernhardt. 
Worst of all, she has never had a Shakespeare. Few plays 
possess any hterary merit, and, like illegitimate offspring, they 
live or die unacknowledged by their authors. To the Chinese 
there would be nothing incredible in the theory that the real 
Shakespeare was Bacon. So great is the influence of the 
drama, that Buddhists, like some of the Christian fathers, have 



SCENES IN NINGPO 73 

attempted to make use of it to inculcate their religion. Such 
plays, it need hardly be said, are too dull to please the public, 
as they lack the piquancy of vice. 

In Chinese theaters, even the best appointed, there is no at- 
tempt at scenic effect, the only outward aid to the imagination 
being a change of raiment, often effected in full view of the 
audience. The actor in every case announces himself, and it 
seems strange to see one who has just been playing the villain 
strut on to the stage in gorgeous apparel and announce, " I am 
your humble servant, the emperor" — Hia kwaii Hwangtishiye. 

The young brother of a rich banker one day applied to Mr. 
Burlingame for the loan of a suit of clothes — explaining that he 
was going to personate a foreigner. The minister kindly ac- 
commodated him ; but it is doubtful that he would have done 
so if he had known the role to be played. The foreigner in 
such cases is not merely the butt of ridicule ; he is always beaten 
in battle ; and after being kicked and cuffed, he is chased off 
the stage amid the vociferous applause of a patriotic crowd. 

Near the center of the city stood a ruined temple of vast 
dimensions. Its dilapidated hall retained no trace of its former 
grandeur except two rows of gigantic idols— nine on either side. 
These were the eighteen lohan (''arhats "), deified disciples of 
Buddha. Noticing one day that instead of eyes they had only 
hollow cavities, ''What has become of their eyes?" I asked, 
turning to a crowd who had gathered about me. 

" They were made of jewels, and thieves have stolen them," 
was the reply. 

" Are these, then, the gods you look to for protection— gods 
that are incapable of protecting their own eyes? " 

They laughed heartily at this home thrust, and I proceeded 
to speak to them of Him who planted the ear, formed the eye, 
and endowed us with understanding — that we might seek after 
Him and find Him. 

Nothing is easier than to make the Chinese laugh at the ab- 



74 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

surdities of idolatry, nor is anything more difficult than to per- 
suade them to give their idols up. I have known missionaries 
who made it a point to provoke merriment by exposing the 
ridiculous side of idolatry, but I thought they might have made 
a better impression had they taken it on the pathetic side. Is 
it not Cowper who says : 

" 'Tis pitiful to court a grin 

When you should woo a soul "? 

In the fall of 1853 Shanghai was taken by a body of rebels, 
not Taipings, but Triads ; a secret society, so called from a form 
of oath which appeals to Heaven, Earth, and Man, the trinity 
of powers in the Chinese universe. The event caused much 
excitement at Ningpo, so near are the two seaports and so 
intimate their business relations. Everybody at Ningpo was 
expecting a similar rising, and the authorities were on the look- 
out for rebel emissaries. One Sunday, just as I was opening 
our afternoon service, a messenger came to say that a tailor, 
known to many of our people, had been arrested as a spy, and 
was about to be led out to execution. No time was to be lost, 
for executions were not attended with many formalities in 
those days, though, in normal times, the sanction of the em- 
peror has to be obtained. Explaining to the congregation 
that when an ass falls into a pit it is a duty to draw him out 
on the Sabbath day, and charging them to pray for my suc- 
cess, I hurried away to see the mayor. He received me cour- 
teously, and told me that the young man had been examined 
(doubtless by scourging and suspension by the thumbs, though 
he did not say so) ; that no confession had as yet been ob- 
tained ; but that a brass badge had been found on his person, 
which made it certain that he belonged to a secret society. 

" Here it is," he added, producing the object with an air of 
confidence that seemed to say, " Now there's an end of the 
matter." 



SCENES IN NINGFO 75 

On one side was the image of a woman, with the words, La 
Fondatrice des Ursuli?ies; on the other the legend, Elk est ma 
mere. 

" Is that ail ? " inquired the magistrate, when I had trans- 
lated the inscriptions. " Then I may let him go." Scarcely 
had I time to reach home when the poor fellow appeared 
under guard and was handed over to me, naked, bruised, and 
emaciated from ten days of maltreatment. 

Not far from our house was a parade-ground, to which I 
sometimes went to see military exercises. Nothing could be 
more amusing. The performance that ranked highest on the 
scale was horseback archery. A trench was cut a hundred 
paces in length, to spare the rider the trouble of guiding his 
steed. All he had to do was to start him in the trench, prick 
him to a gallop, and as he passed a target, distant some twenty 
or thirty paces, let fly his arrow. Mostly the arrows flew wide 
of the mark— so wide, indeed, that one day I saw a spectator 
brought down by a shot in the leg. Protected by a high satin 
boot, not much harm was done ; but the occurrence excited as 
much commotion as if a battle had taken place. 

Sham fights frequently drew me to the place, and were a favor- 
ite maneuver. Two lines of troops stood facing each other, 
one simulating tigers, clad in yellow uniforms with black stripes, 
their caps duly garnished with ears and bristles ; the others, 
adorned with horns and shining scales, were supposed to rep- 
resent dragons, though not mounted Hke our dragoons. At 
beat of drum they leaped into the air, and closed in combat, 
howling and roaring. No weapons were used, feats of indi- 
vidual strength taking their place. He was deemed victorious 
who could seize an antagonist and drag or carry him away as 
a prisoner. The combat ended, they further tested their 
strength by striving, like Ajax, 

" Some stone's huge weight to throw," 



76 



A CYCLE OF CATHAY 



or brandishing a sword that might weigh a hundred pounds. 
Nothing answering to our modern drill had then been intro- 
duced. The text-book of tactics was still that of Sun Wu, 
which dates from 550 b.c. Yet these people had seen British 
soldiers, and been beaten by them! Most of the soldiers had 
the word " brave " stamped on their breasts, and on their backs 
as well. 




(see page 78.) 



CHAPTER V 

SCENES AND INCIDENTS 



A liberal Buddhist -^Cunning beggars — Invocation of devils — Impreca- 
tions and curses — Curious commemorations — Women at a temple 
— Avatar of rain-god — Chasing the flood-fiend — Evils of opium 

IN those early days, when impressions were fresh and obser- 
vation alert, something occurred almost every day to throw 
hght on the character of the people. A few of the more note- 
worthy incidents I cull for this and the succeeding chapter, 
leaving them to speak for themselves, without much in the way 
of comment. 

In seasons of drought, which occurred pretty frequently, the 
city was infested by beggars. Official relief was distributed, 
and the missionaries gave alms as they were able. The abbot 
of a large Buddhist monastery, a man of learning, who was in 
the habit of visiting me, came one day with a naive proposal 
for cooperation in the work of relieving the poor. " You for- 
eigners," said he, " have plenty of money ; now, there is my 
temple at your service. Let us fill it with the hungry poor ; 
you will feed them, and such of them as know letters may read 
your books ; those who cannot read can at least repeat our 
Buddhist prayers." The good man was very sincere, both in 
his charity and his religion, but in this case he would have had 
the best of the bargain, as nine out of ten would have spent 
their time in reciting the name and titles of Buddha. 

Besides people who suffered from temporary distress, there 

77 



78 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

were a great many professional beggars, who during the day 
phed their calhng as bhnd, halt, or dumb, and in the evening 
met together to spend their gleanings, suddenly recovering from 
their infirmities, as in Victor Hugo's " Cour des Miracles." 
Mr. Russell, of the English Church Mission, walking on the 
wall one evening, noticed a comfortable-looking party seated 
at table. Saluting them in passing, they politely invited him 
to take a cup of tea. To their surprise he accepted the offer, 
and, by way of opening a useful conversation, inquired, " What 
is your noble profession? " " We are beggars," they replied, 
to his surprise. 

Mr. Cobbold, of the same mission, was one day accosted by 
a poor man who asked alms, holding up a bloody hand, which 
he said had been badly cut by river-pirates, to show that he 
was unfit for work. The missionary bade him follow to a 
hospital, which he did in hopes of gaining another penny. 
When turning away from the door he was gently drawn inside, 
and the doctor proceeded to dress the wound. The man 
winced terribly while the bloody bandages were being removed, 
and most of all when the last rag came away, revealing an arm 
and hand clean and sound. Cobbold's quick temper was 
roused, and the beggar carried away a wound, though he had 
brought none. Such fellows overtax the patience of a saint. 
It is recorded of Confucius, who was meek as Moses, that he 
once whacked one of them across the shins with his walking- 
stick. 

Among my pensioners was a white-haired man, of near four- 
score. FaUing ill, he was unable to come for his dole, and a 
younger man, his cousin, was permitted to carry him the daily 
allowance. At length, suspecting that something was wrong, 
I declined to send the dole. The young man declared that 
his relative was alive, and promised to bring him on his back, 
in proof of the fact. The next day he appeared at the usual 
hour, bearing on his shoulders a white-haired man, who re- 



SCENES AND INCIDENTS 79 

sembled my pensioner as much as sickness resembles health. 
At first I accepted the claimant as genuine, but as soon as he 
opened his mouth the deception was apparent. Not a trace 
remained of the fine teeth of my octogenarian mendicant. I 
followed the example of Confucius ; and the young man, per- 
sisting in carrying out the fraud, exclaimed, as he bowed his 
shoulders to the burden : " O my brother, what pains do I en- 
dure on your account!" 

One of those poor old men, whom I encouraged to relate 
some of the experiences of his life, concluded his story of mis- 
fortune and disappointment thus : " I dream that I am dining 
with the governor, and wake to find that I am hungry. I dream 
that I am gathering pearls by the handful ; but when I wake, 
my hands are as empty as my beggar's bowl." How many 
visions of wealth and grandeur are equally unsubstantial! 

Begging is one of the pests of China. Buddhism encour- 
ages it, every priest being supposed to pass through a stage 
of mendicancy. In every city the beggars form a kind of 
guild, under the leadership of one who is called their king. 
By paying a fixed tribute to this potentate, an exemption from 
their importunities may be purchased. My wife several times 
attempted to reclaim young beggars, and to introduce them to 
some reputable industry. Several ran away, preferring their 
Bohemian existence, but two of them became honest crafts- 
men. A pretty child one day asked alms, and I repHed by 
bidding him follow me to my door. He trotted after me in 
expectation of some copper coins, though better things were 
in prospect if he had only known it ; for I was thinking of put- 
ting him to school or teaching him a trade. But, on looking 
round, the urchin was gone. Are not faith and patience essen- 
tial to salvation? 

Custom allows a mendicant to annoy people until they give 
at least a copper cash^ equal to a tenth of a cent. You may 
at times see the importunate lay siege to a shop, ring a bell, 



8o A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

blow a horn, or expose unsightly sores, to compel compliance 
with their demands. Some missionaries refuse to give anything 
in the street, disapproving of that mode of charity. I always 
gave, though not from the highest motives : first, to get rid of 
importunity ; second, not to harden my heart by refusal ; third, 
to be seen of men— violating the letter of his precept that I 
might not injure the cause of Christ by seeming to be uncharita- 
ble. Once a well-dressed young man, standing Avith a squad of 
fellows on a street-corner, thought to amuse them by address- 
ing me in tones of noisy familiarity. Without turning my 
head, I tossed him a copper r^?^//, and they roared with laughter. 

One night my attention was attracted to a religious cere- 
mony that was going on in the yard of one of our poor neigh- 
bors. Tables were spread, candles lighted, and with the smoke 
of incense arose the wail of a wild, weird chant. Leaning over 
the balustrade of our upper veranda, my ear caught the words : 
"Oh, all ye dead that have perished by violence — whether 
slain by the sword, drowned by floods, hanged by cords, or 
crushed by falling walls— and you, O Li, Me, Wang, Liang 
[" mischievous sprites "], come to the feast we have spread for 
your entertainment!" A conflagration had taken place the 
previous night, and this man, while doing a little salvage on 
his own account, was hurt or frightened by the falling of burn- 
ing timbers. As he lay in a state of unconsciousness, his soul 
was supposed to have been carried away by some of the sprites 
above referred to. All such are believed to be malevolent. 
The feast was spread to propitiate them and to secure the re- 
lease of their victim. 

When a person dies abroad, the soul is called home to the 
family cemetery by ceremonies similar to these. Chii Yuen, 
a gifted poet, being sent into exile, compares his situation to 
that of such a soul, and writes an ode to soHcit the return of 
the wanderer. The C/iao Hiven is one of the most touching 
elegies in the Chinese language. Some, however, take it liter- 



SCENES AND INCIDENTS 8i 

ally, and ascribe the composition to his friend Sung Yii, who 
wrote it, they say, after the suicide of the poet. That sad event, 
which occurred about 300 B.C., is commemorated by one of 
the most picturesque observances of the present day. At the 
festival preceding the summer solstice a leading amusement is 
a regatta of dragon-boats, so called from their shape and or- 
naments. Nominally, they go out to search for the body of 
the (lead poet ; in reahty, to race and make merry. 

Cliii Yuen's poems are a long jeremiad on the degeneracy 
of his times. They reflect a peevish, melancholy temper, and 
on reading them one is not surprised that he put an end to 
himself. The wonder is that he is honored by such a briUiant 
commemoration. Prince and councilor, his relative, the King 
of Chu, spurned his advice, whereon, Ahithophel-like, he put 
an end to himself. His virtues, talents, and hapless fate are 
scarcely sufficient to account for the extraordinary honors paid 
to his memory. 

An observance very similar in origin occurs in the spring— 
a three days' curfew ; during which no fire is lighted and noth- 
ing but cold food eaten. Kietue, in whose memory it was in- 
stituted, lived in the ninth century B.C. He followed an exiled 
prince for twenty years, and when his master came to the 
throne, wounded by neglect, he hid himself in a forest. The 
prince set fire to the forest, and he perished in the flames. The 
eating of cold food is an impressive mode of recalling his sad 
fate, resembling somewhat our sacrament of the Lord's Supper ; 
with this difference, that it has nothing sacramental in it, and 
that its hero never did anything deserving of commemoration. 
The painted eggs profusely displayed on that occasion remind 
us of our Easter usages. They are a convenient form of cold 
food. 

In a street near the church I one day remarked an old 
woman railing angrily at a young man who was kneeling on 
the ground and bowing his head toward her while he muttered 



82 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

something, to me inaudible. Standing still to study the scene, 
as did many of the passers-by, I was moved with pity for the 
lad, who appeared to be so harshly treated, and yet was so re- 
spectful and penitent. " Just look at that boy," exclaimed the 
old woman, turning to me ; " he is my adopted son. I took 
him when an infant and cared for all his wants with these old 
hands. Because I refuse to give him money to squander, the 
ungrateful wretch is now trying to pray me to death." I then 
for the first time noticed a stick of incense burning on the 
ground, and understood that the apparent act of reverence was 
not to invoke blessings, but a curse. In a little temple on the 
river-bank I once noticed a woman who was praying with 
great fervor and energy. Like Hannah of old, she was a 
** woman of a sorrowful spirit " ; unlike Hannah, however, she 
was not asking for a blessing, but imprecating a curse upon 
some one who had done her wrong — whether a rival in the 
affections of her husband, or an exacting creditor, I was unable 
to make out. 

The Chinese are prone to curse, but, in lieu of the curse 
direct, they revile one's ancestors, in this agreeing with the 
negroes of West Africa. A traveler on the Guinea coast re- 
lates that, struck with a soft strain chanted by his boatman, 
he asked his servant what he was saying. " He cussin', sah," 
rephed the boy ; "he cuss toder man's fader and moder." It 
is only from the gospel that men learn to " bless, and curse 
not." 

In another temple, not a small one, also on the river-bank, 
I once saw two or three thousand women reciting prayers to 
Buddha, on the occasion of a festival. " Why are all the wor- 
shipers women, and what are they praying for ? " I inquired. 
" They are praying that they may be born into the world as 
men," was the answer— so unhappy, as well as inferior, are 
they taught to consider their present condition. Morally, 
however, they are China's better half— modest, graceful, and 



SCENES AND INCIDENTS 83 

attractive. Intellectually, they are not stupid, but ignorant, 
left to grow up in a kind of twilight, without the benefit of 
schools. What they are capable of may be inferred from the 
fact that, in spite of disadvantages, many of them are found 
on the roll of honor as poets, historians, and rulers. Some of 
the brightest minds I ever met in China were those of girls in 
our mission schools. Woman ignorant has made China Bud- 
dhist; will not woman educated make her Christian? The 
national literature needs women to purify it; for while the 
sacred books are pure, novels and jest-books are unspeakably 
filthy, which would not be the case if they were expected to 
pass under the eyes of women. An exception which proves 
the statement is the Kinkii, a collection of stories intended to 
be read aloud to women in the palace, and these are irreproach- 
able in point of morals. 

Not far from our church was the yamen or public office of 
the city prefect. During a season of intense drought I once 
saw a long procession of country people enter his courtyard, 
bearing in their hands branches of green willows, and escort- 
ing a kind of palanquin or litter woven of willows. " What is 
the object of this procession? " I inquired of one of the rustics. 
" W^e are praying for rain," he replied. " We have caught the 
dragon-king, and are bringing him to receive the worship of 
the magistrates. There he is in the palanquin ; you can see 
him for yourself! " 

There he was, sure enough, in an earthen vessel, swimming 
in his own element. He was for the nonce a water-lizard, 
about four inches in length. The people had besought the 
god to manifest himself, and, going to the sacred pool, the first 
living form that met their eyes was this miserable amphibian. 
While I was standing there a carpet was spread on the ground, 
and the prefect, in full robes, knelt down and worshiped the 
avatar of the dragon-king. Hie ceremony was repeated at all 
the yamens, and the people, as they restored the animal to the 



84 



A CYCLE OF CATHAY 



pool, felt that if they did not get rain it would not be for want 
of respect for the dragon-king. 

A few years ago, during an overflow of the Peiho, a small 
snake was captured in the river, and brought to the viceroy, 
Li Hung Chang, who accepted it as the incarnation of the 
dragon, and, performing the koto before it, besought it to cause 
the waters to subside. Sudden and disastrous floods are sup- 
posed to be caused by a sort of dragon called kiao ("flood- 
fiend "). In the " Calendar of Hia," one of the oldest books, 
it is made the duty of a magistrate, at certain seasons, to lead 
the people out to hunt and destroy the flood-fiend. The 
mayor of Ningpo conformed to this ancient usage at least once 

while I was there, and the rustic 
^^>^^ folk, I was told, finding a black 

^^^-''V^- ,^^^^ dog (a black poodle, no doubt) 

under a stone, took him for the 
mask of the flood-fiend, and as 
such put him to death. 

A cloud-burst on one occasion 
caused great damage to life and 
property at Canton ; the natives 
blamed foreigners for having pro- 
voked the calamity by firing on a 
dragon as he flew over their set- 
tlement. Here is a facsimile of 
a woodcut representing the dra- 
gon as he appeared incomplete in 
the clouds when the foreigners im- 
piously discharged their cannon at him. The letterpress con- 
tains nothing additional except details of the calamity, for 
which, it insinuates, the foreigner is to be held responsible. 

In the " Book of Changes," the oldest of the classics, the 
dragon is said to represent an emperor. Hence the use of a 
dragon as an imperial emblem on the national flag, the throne, 




THE WATMILUNG OR BOB-IAILEU 

DRAGON, FIRED ON BY IMPIOUS 

FOREIGNERS. 



SCENES AND I ACCIDENTS 85 

and the vestments of majesty. The dragon myth sprang orig- 
inally from an imaginary combination of crocodile and boa- 
constrictor. Is it not curious that the form which the Chinese 
give to one of their most beneficent deities should be the sym- 
bol of Satan?* (See Rev. xx. i, 2.) How lamentable that 
this silly superstition should keep them from acknowledging 
the blessed and only Potentate, who has not left himself 
without witness, in that he gives rain from heaven and fruitful 
seasons ! 

At Ningpo I began to study the effects of opium-smoking, 
nor was it possible to dismiss the subject as long as I remained 
in China. The conclusion to which I was brought is, that to 
the Chinese the practice is an unmitigated curse. Whether it 
is worse than the abuse of alcohol among us I shall not under- 
take to decide. The contrast between the effects of the two 
drugs is remarkable. Liquor makes a man noisy and furious ; 
opium makes him quiet and rational. The drinker commits 
crime when he has too much ; the opium-smoker when he has 
ioo httle. Drinking is a social vice, and drunkenness a public 
nuisance ; opium-smoking is mostly a private vice, indulged at 
home ; but even in opium-shops it is more offensive to the nose 
than to the eye or ear. Alcohol imprints on the face a fiery 
glow; opium, an ashy paleness. Alcoholic drinks bloat and 
fatten ; opium emaciates. A drunkard may work well if kept 
from his cups ; an opium-smoker is good for nothing until he 
has had his pipe. A drunkard can in most cases cure himself 
by force of will ; the opium habit is a disease, which to break 
from requires, in all cases, the help of medicine. It takes 
years for alcohol to reduce a man to slavery ; opium rivets its 
fetters in a few weeks or months. It does not take the place 
of tobacco, which, used by all classes as a more or less inno- 

* Not stranger than the change of meaning which Christianity gives to 
the Greek di€??ion, or the diflferent signification of Jeva in India and 
Persia. 



86 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

cent indulgence, is indispensable to the opium-smoker ; nor does 
it take the place of alcoholic drinks, which are consumed as 
much as ever. Even its moderate use unfits a man for most 
pursuits. A thousand opium-smokers were at one time dis- 
missed from the army as disquaHfied for service. In the long- 
run, the insidious drug saps the strength, stupefies the mind, 
and of course shortens the span of life. Its expense, though 
great in the aggregate, is nothing in comparison with the loss 
of time and energy sure to follow in its wake. 

Most of these general statements, it is proper to say, have 
exceptions. I have seen men sink into their graves in a few 
months from the use of the drug ; I have known others to use 
it for thirty years, but not with impunity: An example of the 
latter sort was a man who entered my service at the age of 
fifty. He was active and faithful, but died, in spite of medi- 
cal care, because his stomach was so tanned that it would no 
longer digest food or medicine. Chenglin, vice-governor of 
Peking, told me that he had taken to it as an anodyne for grief 
at the loss of a child. Not long after that he succumbed to 
a flux which might have been cured by opium had he not been 
a smoker. 

Many a bright student have I seen ruined by opium-smok- 
ing. In the earlier stages of the habit it is usually impossible 
to detect, but at length it reveals itself. One who was sent to 
France as interpreter to the Chinese envoy smoked himself to 
death as a relief from family troubles. When near his end he 
said his opium-pipe was his only consolation— J//?;/ plaisir 
unique, he called it. Another, emaciated and sallow when 
he went to Russia, came back after some years fat and flour- 
ishing. He explained to me that the change was due to the 
giving up of opium, which, said he, " I was obhged to forego, 
because it was not to be had." At first the pipe is sought as 
a source of enjoyment, or an incentive to the passions ; in later 
stages it is taken as a relief from pain. 



SC£jV£S axd ixcidexts 



87 




Ol'lUM-SMOKEK S PROGRESS PAST, PRESENT, 

FUTURE. 



A score of medical testimonies that I took pains to collect 
agree as to the deleterious tendencies of the habit. A parlia- 
mentary commission recently reported rather favorably on the 
use of the drug in India. 
If they had been dealing 
specially, not incident- 
ally, with the Chinese 
their report might have 
been different. The sen- 
timent of China in regard 
to it is fairly expressed in 
a native tract with three 
pictures,representingthe 
past, present, and future 

of the opium-smoker. Its brief legend is this : " The evils of 
opium are extreme. Tobacco, if you smoke a dry pipe, re- 
quires the service of one hand ; if the water-pipe, of both 
hands. Opium enslaves the whole body. It wastes time, 
ruins business, and destroys the smoker and his family. Yet 
he is so bewitched that he does not wake up." 

Missionaries, who see its ravages among the people, all de- 
nounce it. Chinese officers have of late made spasmodic at- 
tempts to save portions of their j)eople from the rising flood. 
General Tso forbade the cultivation of the poppy in the North- 
west and destroyed the crops. Governor Shen did the same 
in Shansi. These and many similar efforts were intended to 
prevent the poisonous drug from becoming a native product, 
within the reach of all. They had no reference to those able 
to buy a foreign luxury. Had the mandarins acted in con- 
cert, they might have suppressed the vice even after the legal- 
ization of the import ; but they never pull together for any 
public purpose whatever. It is now too late. Tlie native 
drug amounts to five or ten times the foreign, and the foreign 
trade is falling off. It is significant that Japan strictly prohib- 



88 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

its the use of opium, having before her eyes such an object- 
lesson as China. Count Ito told Li Hung Chang that they 
intended to root it out of Formosa. It is the darkest cloud 
that hangs over the future of China. " The desire for sleep 
on China's part," says the North China " Herald " in a leader 
on progress, May 31, 1895, "is a morbid feeling, induced by 
an injurious consumption of narcotics." 

Did not Tennyson have China in mind when he wrote of 

" A land where all things always seemed the same; 
And round about the keel, with faces pale, . . . 
The mild-eyed, melancholy Lotos-eaters came"? 

How can a land be changed for the better if any large pro- 
portion of its rulers are crying in their hearts : 

" Let us alone. What pleasure can we have 
To war with evil? Is there any peace 
In ever climbing up the climbing wave? " 

What proportion of the people are infected it is impossible 
to say, as it varies from district to district — some kind of local 
option keeping the poison out of certain places, while in others, 
especially where the drug is grown, its pallid mark is seen on 
every face, not even women being exempt. A few native re- 
ligious societies are operating against the evil, but the flood 
continues to rise. The best hope for checking it — though, we 
fear, a forlorn hope— is in the growing influence of the church 
of Christ. With the spread of Christianity a healthier moral 
sentiment will be awakened, which will become effective far 
beyond the pale of the churches. 

If any one desires to know whether Chinese officials look 
on opium as a harmless drug, for the introduction of which 
they ought to be grateful to England, let him read the follow- 
ing extracts from a letter of Prince Kung and his colleagues. 



SCENES AND INCIDENTS 89 

It was addressed to the British minister in July, 1869, ten 
years after the admission of opimn as a dutiable commodity. 
Their object was to induce the British government to stop the 
import, while they, on their part, proposed to suppress the 
native production. The source of supply being dried up, the 
vice would die for want of nutriment. This would have cost 
them in duties on the foreign drug alone an annual sacrifice 
of ^^1,700,000 — so much in earnest were they to rid their 
country of a growing evil. 

"That opium is like a deadly poison," says this official 
document, "that it is most injurious to mankind and a most 
serious provocative of ill-feeling [between the two countries], 
is, the writers think, perfectly well known to your Excellency. 
The officials and people of this empire all say that England 
trades in opium because she desires to work China's ruin. 
For, say they, if the friendly feelings of England were genuine, 
since it is open to her to produce and trade in everything else, 
would she still insist on spreading the poison of this hurtful 
thing through this empire? 

"There are those who say, stop the trade by a vigorous 
prohibition against the use of the drug. Now, although the 
criminals' punishment would be of their own seeking, bystand- 
ers would not fail to say that it was the foreign merchant who 
seduced them to their ruin ; such a course would tend to arouse 
popular anger against the foreigner. Others, again, suggest the 
removal of the prohibitions against the growth of the poppy, 
as a temporary measure. We should thus not only deprive 
the foreign merchant of a main source of his profits, but we 
should increase our revenue to boot. We cannot say that, as 
a last resource, it may not come to this. But we are most un- 
wilHng that such prohibitions be removed, holding that a right 
system of government should appreciate the beneficence of 
Heaven and seek to remove any grievance that afflicts its 
people. To allow them to go to destruction, although an in- 



90 



A CYCLE OF CATHAY 



crease of revenue may result, will provoke the judgment of 
Heaven and the condemnation of men." 

Having failed to obtain the cooperation of England, they 
were forced to license the home product. It is feared, how- 
ever, that the measure is not " temporary." 



g^i^^^g^^^^..7::^#y^-^ 




A STUDENT IN HIS L115KARY SMOKING Ol'lUM. 



CHAPTER VI 

SCENES AND INCIDENTS [Coiltimied) 

A model riot — Portuguese violence and Chinese revenge — Bull-fights — 
Passion for gambling — Mixed marriages — The palace of ceremony — 
Honors to a laureate— An earthquake, and its eflfects— Taoist and 
Taoism 

I ONCE saw a procession of country people visit the yamens 
of the city mandarins, with an object very different from 
that described in the last chapter. Shops were shut and per- 
fect stilhiess reigned, as, twenty thousand strong, they wended 
their way through the streets, with banners flying, each at the 
head of a company and each inscribed with the name of a 
temple where that company held its meetings. " What is the 
meaning of this demonstration? " I inquired. " We are going 
to reduce the taxes," was the laconic answer. Petitions had 
been tried in vain, and now, driven to desperation, they were 
staking everything on a last appeal, with its alternative — re- 
venge. The mandarins did not stay to hear them ; and, throw- 
ing into heaps the furniture of their oppressors — silken cushions, 
gauze curtains, carved chairs, and other objects of costly lux- 
ury — the rioters applied the torch and consumed the whole as 
inexorably as the spoil of Jericho. A man whom I saw mak- 
ing off with something valuable was brought back, and his 
booty thrown into the fire ; but he, I believe, escaped the fate 
of Achan. 

Similar scenes were enacted at every yamen in the city, 

91 



92 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

and, strange to say, the peaceful inhabitants were not molested, 
save that business was interrupted for a day. The conflict 
was with the mandarins only ; the rioters were under strict 
discipline, and still professed loyalty to the supreme govern- 
ment. Entering the yameri of the chehien, or mayor, to 
watch the proceedings, I noticed a company of rioters guard- 
ing a portion of the building while their comrades were evis- 
cerating the rest. Inquiring why they were mounting guard 
instead of joining in the loot, they answered simply, " This is 
the treasury, and no man shall touch the emperor's money." 
Their grievance was not taxation, but excessive charges made 
by local officers to cover the expense of collection. A month 
later the provincial governor sent against the rioters a force 
of fifteen hundred men. Caught in an ambuscade, these troops 
were beaten with a loss of fifty killed and twice as many 
wounded. I went with Dr. McCartee to visit the latter, and 
it was sad to see how they had been mauled and slashed by a 
lot of unarmed clodhoppers. 

Force having failed to reduce the rioters to submission, the 
governor tried persuasion. He dismissed the obnoxious man- 
darins, and promised to put an end to their exactions if the 
ringleaders were delivered up. These men, Cheo and Chang, 
with a fine spirit of patriotism, surrendered themselves to gain 
their object and stop the plague of war. They were, however, 
put to death, as they knew they would be ; but their grateful 
followers, no longer crushed by illegal imposts, erected a tem- 
ple to their memory and now worship them as gods. I know 
of nothing that exhibits the national character to better advan- 
tage than this incident. 

On another occasion, the people of an outlying district re- 
volted against the exactions of a salt-farmer, marched into the 
city, and burned his house, without doing harm to any one 
else. Such are the methods these law-abiding people are at 
times forced to take to right their wrongs under a paternal 



SCEA^ES AND INCIDENTS 93 

government. I afterward witnessed a more sanguinary drama 
— unrelieved by anything noble — in a feud between the Portu- 
guese and Cantonese. The latter were reformed pirates who 
had been reduced to submission by promises of official employ- 
ment and liberal pay. They were under the leadership of two 
brothers, who were given rank in the imperial navy. Distrust- 
ing their honesty, the Ningpo fishermen engaged Portuguese 
lorchas to convoy their fleet and protect their fishing-grounds, 
paying no less than fifty thousand dollars for the season. The 
Cantonese endeavoring to wrest this lucrative business from 
the hands of their rivals — the old story of wolves offering to 
protect the flock — a series of sanguinary collisions took place, 
which led to the despatch from Macao of a Portuguese corvette, 
with orders to destroy the Canton squadron. 

The junks sought refuge in the river, mooring near the Salt 
Gate ; but their assailants, who had no respect for any sanctu- 
ary, took up a position within easy range and proceeded to 
sink them one after another — presenting in a time of peace a 
spectacle such as the West has not witnessed since the Vikings 
ceased to ravage the coasts of Europe. Such was the reckless 
violence of a people who carried on trade without the sanction 
of a treaty, and such the helpless imbecility of the Chinese 
authorities. 

Our first intimation of the fray was the boom of cannon, 
followed by the whizzing of cannon-balls over our housetop. 
So near and so numerous were these messengers of death that 
we supposed the Portuguese had begun to bombard the city, 
and sought safety behind the walls of the church. One shot 
fell in the taotai's yamen, near by ; another killed a girl half a 
mile beyond us. When the firing ceased, Messrs. Cobbold and 
Russell came to tell me of a rumor that the Cantonese were 
plotting to seize all Europeans and hold them as hostages, or 
to murder us in revenge. Going directly to the taotai, the 
highest mandarin in the city, we were shown the shot, a twenty- 



94 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

four-pounder, that had fallen in his courtyard. We were also 
confronted with Puliangtai, ex-pirate, and commander of the 
sunken junks. The taotai denied the existence of the alleged 
plot ; but we nevertheless informed him and the ex-pirate that 
any attempt to play that game would be followed by swift 
retribution. 

The ex-pirates found revenge in another way. Waiting till 
the corvette had quitted the China seas, they mustered their 
forces and prepared to attack the Portuguese. These, in ex- 
pectation of an assault, had moored their lorchas at a bend of 
the river in front of their consulate, a quarter of a mile from 
a house to which we had then removed. Equal in numerical 
strength to their assailants, it w^as supposed that they would 
make a good defense. But the Cantonese, coming up on the 
flood-tide, instead of opening fire as anticipated, grappled with 
the lorchas, and boarded them with drawn cutlasses. Driven 
from their guns, which proved of no use, the Portuguese fled 
ashore. Many were cut down or shot in the back. Thirty or 
forty were seized, and, with hands tied, thrown into the river. 
Two or three fugitives 1 saw scudding across the plain, but 
whether they eluded their pursuers or not it was impossible to 
discover. The consulate was pillaged, and the flag of Portugal 
disappeared from the port. The Peking government, if it had 
heard of the occurrence, did not care to interfere ; and the 
Portuguese did not dare to renew the conflict. 

Nor was this the first massacre suffered by the Portuguese at 
the port of Ningpo. Mendez Pinto gives us an account, as 
graphic as it is credible (notwithstanding his doubtful reputation 
for veracity), of a more terrible wrath-storm that overwhelmed 
their settlement at the mouth of the river three centuries ago. 
The twin pursuits of the Portuguese, according to him, were trade 
and buccaneering. For high game they seized cities, and for 
ordinary pastime they levied blackmail, and in both they pros- 
pered exceedingly, until their cup was full, and then they were 



SCENES AND INCIDENTS 95 

wiped out in a single day. Their unscrupulous proceedings 
did much to delay the opening of China to legitimate com- . 
merce. As pictures of the lawless license not uncommon in 
the " fifties," these scenes are perhaps not undeserving of the 
space here given to them. 

I close this account with a comic incident that took place 
shortly before the expulsion of the Portuguese. One of that 
nationality, calhng at my house, said something about " Mr. 
Martins " and a " small box," desiring me to go with him. I 
was at the time expecting a box from Shanghai ; and, accom- 
panying the messenger, t found, not a box, but a case of small- 
pox, a man named Martinez being the patient. 

A feud existed between the junkmen of Canton and Fu- 
kien— the former levying blackmail on the latter — and one 
of their battles took place in full view of our house ; the city 
authorities standing aloof and leaving them to fight it out. 
Even among those hardened freebooters one sometimes meets 
with redeeming traits. Witness the following incident, as well 
as my own adventure in Chapter VIII. 

One day, when I was crossing the river, my servant, under- 
taking to relieve the ferryman at the oar, awkwardly tumbled 
into the stream. Unable to swim a stroke, he was bobbing up 
and down in the water, when a Cantonese, leaping from the 
high poop of a junk, rescued the drowning man. The latter, 
not content with verbal thanks, went aboard the next day with 
thank-offerings of considerable value. To his surprise, the 
Canton man declined to accept anything beyond a few fruits, 
satisfied with the consciousness of a good action. Ought not 
that act, so prompt and generous, to be taken as an offset to 
the heartless selfishness with which the Chinese are so often 
charged? . 

It may not be generally known that bull-fights are in vogue 
in some parts of China. The district of Kinhoa, not far from 
Ningpo, is equally celebrated for fierce bulls and fat hams. 



96 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

For want of transport, they feed both cows and pigs on rice. 
Every spring they hold a cattle-show, at which the chief at- 
traction is the bull-fights, of which more take place than in 
any city of Spain, for the animals are pitted, not against man 
and horse, but against each other. The vanquished is seldom 
killed, but usually retires with head and shoulders covered with 
blood. When asked the reason for the cruel sport, " Sport! it 
is not sport, but business," rephed a grave-looking man, who 
was either a philosopher or a wag, or perhaps a mixture of 
both. " We make the beasts fight," continued he, " to take 
the spirit of combativeness out of the air, so that men may 
live in harmony." 

It goes without saying that the motive back of this philan- 
thropic aim was the excitement of betting, for the Chinese are 
desperate gamblers, forcing all kinds of pugnacious beasts to 
do their fighting for them, while they do the betting. The 
quail, for instance, is with them a game bird, in this peculiar 
sense ; and a quail-cock that kills half a dozen antagonists is 
worth ten times its weight in silver. The cricket, however, 
affords the highest sport ; gay young men and decrepit old 
men are alike fascinated with the fun of seeing them snap each 
other's heads off. The capital was once taken by a horde of 
Tartars because the general in command was too much engaged 
with his crickets to prepare for its defense. Does not Daudet 
tell us something similar about a French marshal and his game 
of bilhards? 

" I don't eat meat any more," once said my donkey-boy, as 
he was trudging along by my side in another part of China. 
" It was hard to give it up, but now it would be hard to take 
to it again." Asking the how and the why, he told me this 
story : 

" I was given to play," said he, " wasted my evenings, and 
stole things out of the house to stake on a game. In grief and 
despair, my father cursed me, praying that I might be struck 



SCEXES AND IXC ID EX TS 97 

dead. That was more than I could bear, I went away to a 
temple, got an incense-stick, lighted it under the open sky, and, 
knocking my head on the ground, I made a vow to heaven 
and earth not to touch a card for a year, and in the meantime 
to abstain from meat. Nearly two years have passed, and I 
now have no appetite for either. I intend to abstain from 
both till the end of my life." With him filial piety meant 
something, and his rehgion, vague as it was, enabled him to 
triumph over his besetting sin. 

Yet another illustration of the passion for hazard. One day, 
when I was new to the place, I happened to enter a street near 
the Floating Bridge. It was filled with an excited crowd, who 
were madly vociferating and gesticulating. Thinking that I 
had come upon a riot, I turned aside to ask the meaning of 
the tumult, when I learned that I was in the Stock Exchange. 
Bids were made viva voce and accepted by the grasping of 
hands, the parties withdrawing to complete their bargain. The 
business going on at that time was the fictitious sale of Span- 
ish dollars for copper cash; the quotations being brought by 
pigeon post from Suchau, two hundred miles distant. How 
vividly this scene was recalled to my memory by the confused 
roar heard at the Paris Bourse! 

The town above mentioned as famous for bull-fights was 
the principal scene of a drama, in two acts, which, if brought 
on the stage by a skilful hand, might prove a " stunning " suc- 
cess. Mr. Gilbert is welcome to the plot, as it has cost me 
nothing in the way of invention. 

Act I. — A Chmcse Studefii in England 

The student Siaopo is the son of a respectable man of high 
literary rank who has embraced Christianity. Desirous of see- 
ing foreign countries, he accompanies a missionary to England, 
paying his expenses by serving the missionary in the capacity 



98 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

of Chinese secretary. He also forms the central attraction in 
the missionary's lectures, where he is exhibited to prove the suc- 
cess of the mission in converting the heathen. 

Discontented with his share of the proceeds, and his head 
turned by flattery, he quarrels with his mentor, and gives lec- 
tures on his own account. 

Sympathizing friends gather around him who are indignant 
that a missionary intrusted with the education of the son of a 
nobleman should so far forget his duty as to exhibit the young 
mandarin as Columbus exhibited the savages from the New 
World. 

Becoming one of the lions of the season, Siaopo is in much 
request in the salons of London, where a banker's daughter 
allows herself to be captivated by the almond and the olive, 
aided by gorgeous apparel, and the importance of a personage 
who tears himself away from her society to keep an engage- 
ment with the Earl of Clarendon. 

Act II. — T/ic Backer's Daughter in China 

A motherless girl, she has been in the habit of having her 
own way ; and when her father opposes the marriage, she 
elopes and goes to China. On arriving there, she is surprised 
to find herself wife No. 2. Nor is wife No. i so overjoyed at the 
return of her husband as to overlook the presence of a rival. 
She tries to expel the intruder ; but as her husband prefers the 
lily to the ohve, she goes stark mad and dies of a broken heart. 

The lily does not long enjoy her triumph. In utter loneli- 
ness, hundreds of miles from the sound of a European voice, 
she begins to fade and longs for death. Before the end comes 
she is aroused by the news that a white man has been drowned 
by the wreck of a boat on the rapid river that flows by her 
Chinese home. Making her way to the scene of the disaster, 
she finds the victim to be an American general, who, after 



SCENES AND INCIDENTS 



99 



leading the Chinese forces against the rebels, went over to tlie 
latter. Being captured, he was being carried to Peking in irons, 
when a sunken rock came to the rescue, delivering him from 
his tormentors, and two countries from the dangers of an 
international complication. 

This duty done, the unfortunate girl proceeds to Shanghai 
for medical advice, and finds a grave in a Christian cemetery. 

Other instances might be brought m as side-plays — such as 
that of the son of an M. P., who on shipboard married, with 
all due ceremony, a Chinese widow employed as nurse for a 
missionary's children. In Shanghai he was ostracised for what 
he had done ; though it would have been more rational to 
admit him to the gay circles of the foreign settlement, and to 
ostracise his wife. 



^^ ^iiiifiiiSM 







'^.i4_>J 



HE 1'Al.ACE OF C'EKEMONV. 



Near our church was a shed which bore the imposing title 
hiia7ig-kuHg, or emperor's palace. It contained a throne, sur- 
mounted by a gilded tablet representing his Majesty, and in- 



lOO A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

scribed with the prayer, Hwangti^ wan-siie^ wan-siie^ wan-wan 
sue! that is, " The emperor, may he Hve ten thousand years, 
ten thousand years, ten thousand times ten thousand years!" 
Here all the officials (and the same is true of other cities) were 
obliged to assemble on the accession of an emperor and on his 
birthdays, to do him homage ; or, on his demise or that of any 
member of his family, to perform the rites of mourning. No- 
ticing one day a throng of officials entering this hall of cere- 
mony, each clad in a robe of coarse hemp, I entered with them 
to observe the performance. They had heard of the death of 
a dowager empress, but they talked and laughed gaily enough 
until the master of ceremonies cried out. Quay pai^ when they 
sank on their knees, and brought the forehead three times in 
contact with the earth, raising, in the interv^als, a melancholy 
wail. This was repeated three several times, and between the 
acts they talked and laughed as before. Some of them, as 
curious as myself, indeed, sought to cultivate my acquaintance 
and to learn from me how we are accustomed to do these 
things. 

An imperial tablet is to be seen in most of the greater tem- 
ples. Formerly the Mohammedans refused to admit it into 
their mosques, regarding the respect paid to it as idolatrous. 
Lately, however, they have waived the objection, in order to 
vindicate themselves from suspicion of complicity in the insur- 
rectionary movements of their co-religionists. Might not the 
tablet, with great propriety, be set up in every Christian church, 
where, no prostrations being required, its presence would have 
no religious significance further than to indicate that the em- 
peror was prayed for? Such a proof of loyalty would be valu- 
able. 

I heard once a concert of musical instruments accompanied 
by the explosion of fire-crackers in a cluster of cabins near our 
dwelling. The musicians, who bore festive banners and wore 
red tassels on their caps, had come to announce to the occu- 



SCENES AND INCIDENTS loi 

pants of that humble abode that Changyun, a relative of theirs, 
had gained the first honor at Peking in a literary competition 
which takes place in the palace, and that the emperor had 
marked his name with vermiHon, as scholar-laureate of the 
empire. The family of the poor student at once emerged from 
obscurity. The whole city rejoiced in their good fortune. The 
wife of the laureate was invited to visit the six gates and scat- 
ter rice by way of exorcising the bad luck which is beheved to 
threaten many in consequence of the brilliant success of one. 
No wonder the winning of that proud position is the school- 
boy's dream! 

I may here also mention a circumstance of which I was not 
a m^re observer, as in the preceding scenes. Standing one 
evening, lamp in hand, in the portico of the church, and talk- 
ing to the sexton, I felt the floor move under me. I exclaimed, 
Tien yao didong / ("An earthquake"), and rushed down the 
steps with such force that I flattened the lamp against the wall 
of the court. About midnight we were wakened by a much 
harder shock, which seemed as if it would bring our house 
down. This, in fact, it helped to do ; for it cracked the walls, 
as it did those of other high buildings. A wet season ensuing, 
the half-burned bricks which a knavish contractor had wrought 
into the building were reduced to pulp. One night, six months 
after the earthquake, we were aroused by the crumbling of the 
wall, and had hardly time to escape with our children when 
it came down with a crash. Happily, the tile roof was sup- 
ported by wooden pillars— a mode of building well adapted to 
a country where seismic convulsions, if not frequent, are some- 
times violent. As to the origin of earthquakes, the Chinese 
are as wise as the ancient Greeks— ascribing them to the rest- 
lessness of a huge fish instead of a giant. Sometimes, however, 
they refer them to the magic of foreigners, which they regard 
as more potent than Enceladus or Leviathan. 

Among the strangers from distant places who found their 



I02 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

way to my house, mostly drawn by curiosity, was a man from 
Hangchau, by the name of Chu. Besides being actuated by 
a worthier motive, he deserves mention as a typical Taoist. 
With him religious truth was a matter of supreme concern. 
He had studied Buddhism and incorporated much of it in his 
hospitable creed. Hearing of a new rehgion from the West, 
he undertook this journey with the hope of making further 
additions to his treasury of rehgious ideas. Nor was he dis- 
appointed in the result, though I was. For in Christ he rec- 
ognized the latest manifestation of Tao, the divine principle, 
but he was not prepared to confess him as Lord and renounce 
his old master. In taking leave, he expressed his sense of the 
value of the new doctrine by inviting me to send men to preach 
it in the provincial capital, and promising to aid them in their 
mission. He was as good as his word, receiving my two cate- 
chists into his own house ; and when his termagant wife made 
it too hot for them, he procured them lodgings at an inn, and 
paid their expenses, as he was well able to do, being a pawn- 
broker in easy circumstances. 

During their stay he was assiduous in consulting the oracles 
of Taoism, and sent me by their hands communications fresh 
from the spirit-world in praise of the gospel of Christ, assert- 
ing its substantial identity with the teachings of all the ancient 
sages. This was not unlike the indorsement given to Paul and 
Silas by a votary of Apollo : " These be the servants of the 
most high God, which show unto us the way of salvation." 
Only, in this case, the old spirit of Python was never exor- 
cised. When the catechists revisited Hangchau, Mr. Chu was 
dead. Let us hope that he found in the other world "the 
way, the truth, and the life," which he sought here with so 
much ardor. 

Tao, the name of his sect, signifies " way " and " truth " or 
"reason"; and it professes to lead to everlasting "life," i.e., 
a physical immortality. The principles that brought him into 



SCENES AND INCIDENTS 103 

sympathy with Christianity he drew from the fountain-head of 
Taoist philosophy, an ancient manual called Tao-tc-kmg^ a 
guide to " truth and virtue," in which we find the precept, 
" Repay injury with kindness." Its author — Li-rh, known as 
Laotse, the " old philosopher," because, though contemporary, 
he was older than Confucius — closed a studious, uneventful 
Hfe in the sixth century b.c. The keeper of many books, 
being royal librarian, he wrote nothing that we have heard of 
except the little treatise above named. The authorship of 
even that work is much disputed. It was extant, we know, 
however, in the third century B.C., and as tradition uniformly 
ascribes it to him, and as without it it would not be easy to ac- 
count for his authority as the founder of a religion, we should 
be content to accept it as genuine. The seeds of Taoism are 
to be found in that book. Obscure as the fragments of Hera- 
clitus, and, like the earlier philosophy of all nations, couched 
in a sort of rambling verse to aid the memory, it appears to 
be a collection of detached thoughts on the world, human so- 
ciety, and self-government. Of surprising breadth and pene- 
tration, as some of them are, they consist mostly of vague 
generalities, destitute of logical connection or precision. The 
author might be chargeable with the artifices of paradox and 
an affected singularity of manner, if both were not natural to 
a recluse who dissents from the ways of the world. In this 
he much resembles the earlier Christian writers. So near, in 
fact, does he approach to Christianity in thought and spirit, 
that some find in his writings traces of the Christian Trinity. 
Take, for example, his simple cosmogony : " One produced a 
second ; the two produced a third ; and the three produced all 
things." Again he says : " There are three inscrutable things 
that blend in unity. The first is not the brighter, nor the last 
the more obscure. Boundless in operation, there is no name 
to call them by." These " three things " are, however, not 
beings, but properties of Tao, the active principle of order in 



I04 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

the universe. Meaning " reason " and " word," Tao resembles 
the logos of St. John, but differs from it in being an impersonal 
principle instead of a personal agent. " Conscious law is King 
of kings," says Emerson, educated in the school of Christianity. 

Laotse never rose to the conception of mind on the throne 
of the universe. Monism was the starting-point of his theory 
— one substance, matter, capable of evolving mind. He 
teaches, though not in express terms, the possibility of acquir- 
ing such a mastery over physical nature as to defy death and 
work miracles. From these obscure hints, taken in connection 
wuth the more ancient " Book of Changes,"' his disciples de- 
duced the twin doctrines of the transmutation of metals and 
the elixir of life, thus originating the practice of alchemy many 
centuries before it found its way into Europe. 

Taoism was favored by the builder of the Great Wall, who 
butchered the followers of Confucius and burned their books. 
It was favored, also, by the founders of the following dynasty. 
Changliang, who did more than any other to place the Prince 
of Han on the throne, was a disciple of Laotse, and attained 
immortality, as it was believed, without death. 

With the resurrection of the books in the succeeding reigns, 
Confucianism again obtained ascendancy ; and in the first cen- 
tury of our era another rival appeared on the arena, in Bud- 
dhism, which w^as introduced from India. About the same 
time Chang Taoling, a noted master of occult science, a de- 
scendant of the Chang above named, was by imperial decree 
created pope of Taoism ; a dignity made hereditary, as were 
the high-priesthoods of the other religions at a later epoch. 
For a long time the three creeds waged a bitter war, alternately 
persecuting and persecuted ; until, after the lapse of many cen- 
turies, they arrived at a vwdiis vivendi by dividing between 
themselves the dominion of the three worlds; heaven being 
assigned to Buddha, hell to Taoism, and this world to Con- 
fucius. Buddhism, it is true, continues to make much of hell ; 



SCEiXES AND INCIDENTS 



105 



but, in popular belief, the Taoist hierarch has the control of 
demons. He lives on the Lunghu Mountain, in Kiangsi, in 
a palace resembling that of an emperor, in which visitors are 
shown long rows of sealed jars, containing spirits of evil, im- 
prisoned by the arch-magician. They are arrested on com- 
plaint of those who suffer at their hands. His clergy have a 
monopoly of exorcism and witchcraft, constituting a vested 
interest in the superstitions of the people. 




RAISING MONEY FOR A TAOIST TEMPLE. 



Nor does the imperial state of the Taoist pope consist solely 
in a sumptuous palace ; he has the appointment of civic deities, 
as the emperor has the appointment of mandarins. Every city 
has its tutelar divinity, as those of Europe have their tutelar 
saints. These are the souls of deceased mandarins ; and the 



o6 



A CYCLE OF CATHAY 



Taoist pope who makes and unmakes them exerts a spiritual 
sway that is not to be despised. 

Beginning with matter, Taoism has developed a system very 
similar to the so-called " spirituahsm " of our day. It peoples 
the universe with spirits of various grades, from all of which 
revelations are received through ihefulan (or "magic pen"), 
a form of planchette that has been in vogue for many centuries. 
Many of its sacred books are referred to this origin. A chop- 
stick or poker, attached to a cross-bar, is supported on the 
hands of two persons in such manner that its point touches 
a layer of meal or sand, with which a table is covered. The 
spirit invoked causes it to vibrate, and the marks traced on the 
table are the response, which none but the initiated know how 
to interpret. 







THE OLD PHILOSOPHER. 



CHAPTER VII 

EXCURSIONS IN THE PROVINCE 

A fair valley and a foul crime — The baby-tower — Preaching in Examina- 
tion Hall — Brownsville and exogamy — A stage for a pulpit — Country 
hospitality — Village feuds — The provincial capital — A Chinese Venice 
— Tomb of an emperor — The flood in China — Stupid models — Clever 
lawyers 

NOW that the whole country is checkered by the footsteps 
of them that sow beside all waters, my early journeys 
are hardly worth notice except as a record of exploration. 
One of these was to the beautiful valley of Ningkonggiao. A 
crystal stream, navigable for light canoes ; green hills, that rise 
in high ranges on either bank ; groves of tall fir-trees, inter- 
spersed with clumps of feathery bamboo, clothing the hillsides ; 
and masses of castellated rocks, crowning the hilltops— such are 
the elements of a landscape rarely to be met with in the North 
of China, but not rare in the picturesque province of Chekiang. 
The narrow valley is overcrowded with people, and I saw 
painful evidence of the prevalence of infanticide, in numerous 
handbills exhorting the people to spare the lives of their female 
children. One man whom I questioned on the subject said 
cynically that they put their girls out of the way because if 
spared to grow up they would bring disgrace on their parents. 
Another confessed that several of his female children — I forget 
how many— had been smothered in the hour of birth. When 
expostulated with on the enormity of the crime, he excused 
himself by shifting the blame upon his neighbors, who, he said, 

107 



io8 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

relieved him of that disagreeable task. Despite humane laws 
and humane literature, this shocking crime prevails in many, 
but not in all, parts of the empire. It is almost unknown at 
the capital, where it is forestalled by nipping the young life at 
an earlier stage. For so dark a blot on the honor of his coun- 
try, strange to say, one of China's wisest sages is partly respon- 
sible. For was it not Mencius who said that " the greatest sin 
against fihal piety is to have no son "? Everyl:)ody, therefore, 
marries as soon as possible — parents pushing their children 
into matrimony before they are out of their teens — and when 
that first of duties is fulfilled and the family sacrifices provided 
for, little regard is felt for supernumerary offspring, especially 
girls. 

Strange again that this disesteem of the female sex, which 
marks them out for victims, and which, in spite of literary cul- 
ture, stamps a people with barbarism, should be inculcated in 
the S/iikifig, one of the sacred books of the East. Here is a 
passage from the work cited : 

" If a boy is born, in a downy bed 
Let him be wrapped, in purple and red ; 
Apparel bright and jewels bring 
For the noble child who shall serve the king. 

" If a girl is born, in coarse cloth wound, 
With a tile for a toy, let her lie on the ground ; 
In her bread and her beer be her praise or her blame, 
And let her not sully her parents' good name." 

On the outskirts of city or town may be noticed a low 
tower, more sad in its suggestions than the Parsee "tower of 
silence " seen at Bombay. It is the baby-tower, or receptacle 
for the uncoffined corpses of infants. No inquiry is made as 
to the cause of death ; no ceremony is observed in sepulture. 
A hideous superstition comes in to aggravate the heartlessness 
of parental neglect. 



EXCURSIONS IN THE PROVINCE 109 

When a child dies before it is old enough to repay the care 
of its parents, it is looked on as the reincarnation of a creditor, 
to whom an unpaid debt was due in a former life. During sick- 
ness the parents nurse it tenderly, but the moment it expires 
their point of view is changed. They see in the corpse noth- 
ing but the mask of an inexorable dun ; and, as it crosses the 
threshold wrapped in a coarse mat, a gash is made in the door- 
sill with a knife or ax to signify that the last tie is severed and 
that the spirit must not return to enter another body. Akin to 
this is the cruel practice of shifting the dying, whether young 
or old, to a temporary bed, often out of doors, lest the bed- 
room should be haunted by the ghost of the deceased. How 
unlike the tender teachings of the gospel! 

Another journey undertaken was to Funghua, a mountain- 
ous district about fifty miles from Ningpo. The inhabitants, 
fierce and rude, were at that time reputed to be so hostile to 
foreigners that my teacher Lu refused to accompany me, pre- 
dicting that I would get into trouble. Ascending the south 
branch of the Ningpo River, I found it so shallow where it 
emerged from the mountains that I had to change my boat 
for a sort of catamaran, made of large bamboos, whose hollow 
joints give it buoyancy. All the traffic and travel are carried 
on by means of these light craft, for the want, perhaps, of good 
roads. Similar craft, drawing only two or three inches, might 
be used with advantage on small streams in our country, if bam- 
boos were plentiful and cheap. Drawn by tow-line or pushed 
by poles, it is slow work to make headway against the current ; 
but downstream one enjoys a perpetual shooting of rapids, 
with just enough danger to impart a relish. 

Installed in a suburban temple whose wooden framework 
had been standing for eight hundred years, I went into the city 
to look for a place to preach. Expressing my wish to some 
of the people, to whom at the same time I gave a few tracts, 
" Come," said they, " we will show you the Examination Hall ; 



no A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

you shall preach to us there." " But will not your officers ob- 
ject?" I cautiously hinted, not wishing to expose myself to the 
ignominy of being turned out. " Not they," was the reply ; 
" we built the hall, and we have a right to make use of it." 

Taking possession of the barrack-like structure, which had 
seats and tables for four or five hundred, I made known my 
message to successive crowds for two or three days ; now ad- 
dressing them in set discourse, anon instructing individual in- 
quirers, or refuting the cavils of objectors. 

From Funghua I directed my steps to Si-wu, an unwalled 
town of some five and twenty thousand inhabitants. These 
all bear the family name of Wu, or Brown ; and as Chinese 
law, more strict than ours, interdicts the marriage of persons of 
the same surname, no matter how distantly related, the people 
of Brownsville export their daughters to the neighboring town 
of Forestville, and receive the Misses Forest in exchange. A 
family system in which the branches take root without sepa- 
rating from the parent tree evidently requires such a law. To 
add a higher sanction, custom bestows on all the cousins to the 
fortieth degree the title of brother or sister. Thus to make all 
the women of a city taboo to all the men, is not that exogamy 
run wild ? Per contra, so little regard is paid to relationship 
outside of the family name that the marriage of half-brother 
and half-sister is not prohibited. 

Giving a few tracts to well-disposed persons, I was requested 
to preach. "If you desire to hear," said I, "you must pro- 
vide me with a suitable place — I object to preaching in the 
street;" a practice, by the way, which I have always shunned 
as derogatory to the dignity of the gospel, though I do not 
deny that it may be admissible in some cases. " There is the 
theater," answered they ; " perhaps that will suit you." 

Conducting me to a vast temple, which bore the inscription, 
S/iil tsu Miao (" To our First Ancestor "), they pointed me to 
a covered stage, from which I discoursed, to many hundreds 



EXCURSIONS IN THE PROVINCE m 

of listeners, of our first ancestor and the God who made 
him. 

At a village on the road I addressed a company under the 
shade of a tree, which, by the way, was not street-preaching. 
When I had finished, a respectable old man invited me to go 
to his house and breakfast, to which I readily consented. The 
house was well-built, commodious, and clean ; the occupant 
being one of the better class of farmers who cultivate their own 
ground. The table was spread with a variety that betokened 
good living, rice-wine not being wanting. To me, however, 
there was a crreat want ; there was no fork with which to 




A FAMILY AT BREAKFAST. 



take up the shrimps, eels, and chicken, which formed the chief 
dishes. My host, seeing me embarrassed in trying to convey 
to my mouth small morsels with two round sticks (the chop- 
sticks in universal use), made a sign to his daughter, who 
brought me the spindle of her spinning-wheel. With that I was 
able to spear my eels and shrimps with sufficient ease, but in 
a way that must have appeared uncivilized to Chinese eyes. 
Happily, there were no other guests and no spectators. 



112 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

From Brownsville it was my intention to proceed south- 
ward to a city on the sea-coast called Ninghai. Already on 
the way, I was deterred from going farther by learning that a 
rumor had preceded me to the effect that " a foreign general 
w^as coming with forty men," to help the people of a fron- 
tier village against those of a neighboring town, with whom 
they were waging one of those private wars so common in 
China. The war, it seems, had sprung from a watermelon 
seed. In the original quarrel, which grew out of a dispute 
about the price of a melon, a man was killed. In retahation, 
two or three were killed, and thus the series went on expand- 
ing until, shortly before this date, some ten or twelve men of 
the northern village had been captured by their southern 
neighbors, bound head and foot, and hacked to pieces by the 
widows of those who had been slain by them or their party. 
Each woman as she gave a blow said solemnly : " Take that 
for my husband!" In China, especially in the South, the ven- 
detta is no less obligatory than in Arabia or in medieval Italy. 

Hangchau, the capital of the province, is classed with Su- 
chau as one of the two finest cities in the empire. As a pro- 
verb has it : 

" Shang yu Tien Tang, 
Hia yu Su Hang." 

" Above the heavens with splendor shine, 
But Su and Hang are quite as fine." 

No foreigner, to the best of my knowledge, had visited the 
latter since Amherst's embassy passed through it in 1816. My 
friend, the Rev. Henry Rankin, and I were permitted to pass 
the gates without disguise ; but the people, not yet famihar with 
European costume, called us Japanese — a tradition of Japa- 
nese piratical incursions being still extant. We found the place 
vast in extent, inclosing several hills, and retaining some ves- 
tiges of imperial magnificence, having been the last capital of 






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EXCUI^SIOXS IN THE PROVINCE 113 

the Sungs when they were driven south by the Mongols in 1278. 
Beyond the walls, on the western side, is a small lake, the 
shores of which are studded with pagodas and temples. In 
a monastery looking out on that lovely landscape we found a 
shelter for the night, taking leave with the sunrise of the next 
day, to the great relief of the bonzes (monks), who regarded us 
with undisguised suspicion. 

Dr. Nevius and Bishop Burdon, who went there in 1858, 
were the first missionaries who succeeded in establishing them- 
selves in that great city, where there are now three flourishing 
missions. The configuration of Hangchau Bay is such as to 
produce that rare marine phenomenon called the bore— 2^ tide- 
wave that rushes into the river with a frightful roar, and pre- 
sents in its incoming flow the aspect of a wall of water. That 
of the Hooghly, at Calcutta, is perhaps better known, and 
that of the Bay of Fundy is higher; but so extraordinary is 
the bore of Hangchau that in October, when it rises highest, 
the magistrates meet it with prostrations and burning incense, 
believing it to herald the approach of a sea-god. 

On our way back we explored the city of Shaohing, in which, 
as in Venice, the streets are canals, and boats the common 
vehicles. While we were preaching and distributing books, a 
well-dressed man pressed through the crowd and invited us to 
take luncheon at his house. He was a Chil-jm, or Master of 
Arts, and belonged to one of the best famihes. His attentions 
were prompted, not by idle curiosity, but, as he courteously 
said, by a desire to " show proper respect to educated men 
from a distant land." 

A mile or so from the wall stands one of the most famous 
shrines of the far East — the mausoleum of the Emperor Ta Yu 
(the " Great Yu"), who surveyed the empire, divided it into nine 
provinces, and founded the first great dynasty, B.C. 2100. A 
monument records his exploits, in tadpole characters, so called 
because each stroke resembles a nascent frog with a bulky head 



il4 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

and wavy tail. No scholar of the present day can read it ; it 
is accordingly accompanied by a transhteration into modem 
Chinese, whose forms became fixed in the fourth century a.d. 
The genuineness of this inscription is not unquestioned, though 
no one doubts its antiquity. The same may be said of the 
Yukung, a chapter in the Chinese Genesis, which professes to 
narrate Ta Yu's travels and achievements. But, if apocryphal, 
both documents, like most of their kind, owe their existence 
to the fame of an historical personage. 

The facts of this emperor's history, making due allowance 
for hyperbole, are as related in other parts of the work we have 
mentioned. In the reign of Yao, it seems, a flood of waters 
covered all the level ground, " embosomed the mountains, and 
threatened heaven itself." A minister was put to death for 
having failed to bring the rivers back to their forgotten chan- 
nels, and then his son was appointed to the vacant post, with, 
of course, the same penalty hanging over his head. This was 
no other than our hero, Ta Yu, who, after nine years of toil, 
during which he thrice passed his own door without finding 
time to enter, succeeded in accomplishing a task in compari- 
son with which the labors of Hercules were child's play. So 
delighted was the Emperor Shun— himself the adopted suc- 
cessor of Yao— that he adopted the successful engineer, to the 
exclusion of his own son. Ta Yu ascended the throne, and 
showed himself equally arduous in the work of administration, 
"leaving the table thrice during one repast," as it is said, to 
give instructions to his officers ; and, on coming out of his bath, 
hurrying away to business " without taking time to tie up his 
hair." To the present day he is held up as the national model 
of diligence, alike for sovereign and for subject. 

" Great Yu was careful of every inch of time. We common 
mortals should not waste the tenth of an inch," is the transla- 
tion of a pair of scrolls which set his example before the eyes 
of students in the hall of the Tungwen College, in Peking. Is 



EXCURSIONS IN THE PROVINCE 115 

not the appointment of Ta Yu to his father's post just what we 
should expect of a monarch hke Yao, who made a law that 
"children are not to suffer for the sins of their parents"? 
And was not the disinheriting of an unworthy prince in Ta 
Yu's favor the converse of the same principle? In these de- 
generate days treason, even constructive treason, ahvays en- 
tails the annihilation of a whole family. No wonder the Chi- 
nese look back regretfully to an age when the throne was the 
prize of merit! 

Some have supposed that Ta Yu's flood was a remote effect 
of that of Noah, which occurred three centuries before. The 
latter was the subject of a Sunday-school lesson in the Inter- 
national Series, recently translated by a committee of mission- 
aries. In the habit of giving the Chinese chronology alongside 
of that of Usher, they were a little startled, when the lesson 
came back from the printer, to read at the top of the page, which 
stated that " all the high mountains under the whole heavens 
were covered" the date "thirteenth year of the Emperor 
Chuanhii," implying that all was tranquil in China. 

Near Shaohing we crossed the river Zaongo, which takes 
its name from one of the twenty-four models of filial piety. A 
ferryman having been drowned, his daughter, after seeking 
the corpse without success, threw herself into the stream in de- 
spair. After three days her body floated to the surface, bring- 
ing up that of her parent! Moral: the duty of suicide in a 
similar case. 

The other models in this precious collection are not, in gen- 
eral, more worthy of imitation. One is a httle boy, who lay on 
the ice to melt it, that he might catch a fish for his mother's 
breakfast. Another, a lad, who, on the occurrence of a thun- 
der-storm, remembering that his mother was afraid of hght- 
ning, threw himself on her grave and cried, " Don't be afraid, 
mama; your son is here." Amiable idiots! Arcades a/nbo.' 

We have heard of a man of science who believed that 



Ii6 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

" Little Jack Horner " veils a solar myth. In China the " four 
and twenty blackbirds " are taken seriously. Artists vie with 
one another in inventing illustrations ; and scholars, even the 
most eminent in the land, solicit the privilege of writing a chap- 
ter to be printed in autograph ! 

Shaohing is famed for good wine and clever lawyers. Here 
is a story from a Chinese book of anecdotes, which shows how 
a Shaohing lawyer got his client out of a desperate " fix." A 
young man was charged with knocking out his father's teeth. 
Death, in consequence of the unfilial act, stared him in the face. 
Left alone with the criminal, the lawyer looked grave and 
walked rapidly round the room, talking all the while. " It's 
a bad case," he said, dropping his voice and whispering in the 
prisoner's ear. Suddenly seizing the ear between his teeth, he 
gave it a severe bite. " What do you mean ? " said the pris- 
oner, raising his fist. " I mean," said the lawyer, " that you 
are saved. You have only to show the prints of my teeth, and 
say that they were made by your father, whose teeth, being 
shaky, dropped out!" 

In China there is a bench, but no bar. The legal profes- 
sion is unrecognized by law, yet it is indispensable. In all trials, 
civil or criminal, the papers are drawn up by lawyers ; but there 
is no jury for them to mislead, and they are not permitted to 
plead before the judge. It would do much to promote justice 
if they were employed in open court to examine witnesses, in- 
stead of leaving the judge to obtain his evidence by torture. 

There are other trips of which I cherish pleasant memories. 
One was to " Snowy Valley," where there is a cascade that 
might vie with Yosemite ; another was to Tunghu, an artifi- 
cial lake seven miles in length and of great beauty; others, 
again, were to noted mountains or famous shrines. But all 
these must be passed over in silence, since we have tarried too 
long on the three that form the subject of this chapter, 



CHAPTER VIII 

VISITS TO THE ISLANDS 

Chusan— Queer ways of fishing — Puto — Priests, temples, and human sac- 
rifices — Pirates — Experience as a prisoner 

ONE of our summer resorts was Tinghai, on the island of 
Chusan, where, in addition to salt air, we had easy ac- 
cess to salt water. While there, I was one day startled by a 
splash not far from my window. Raising my eyes, I was hor- 
rified to see an old man sinking in a fresh-water pond, and I 
at once rushed to the rescue. Seeing me about to plunge in, 
the bystanders burst into a loud laugh, caUing out at the same 
time, Kaiv ng, kaw ng I (" Catching fish, catching fish ! "). Just 
then the old man appeared above the surface, and, the water 
not being very deep, he stood up to take breath. Thrusting a 
fish into a wicker pouch attached to his loins, he dived again, 
taking pains to make as much commotion as possible with 
hands and feet while pursuing the fish in their own element. 
By frightening and bewildering them, he somehow succeeded 
in making them run into his hands, for he had no net or other 
contrivance for catching them. 

One of the curious sights to be witnessed on the rivers and 
canals of central China is the practice of fishing with cormo- 
rants. Half a dozen of these birds may be seen perched on 
the edge of a small boat ; one after another they plunge into 
the water, and each without fail returns with its prey. A ring 
about the neck prevents their swallowing the larger fish, which 

117 



i8 



A CYCLE OF CATHAY 



go to the account of their master. Another pecuh'ar mode of 
fishing is to tilt a small boat in such a manner that the edge 
(to which is attached a narrow strip of white plank) is near the 
surface of the water. A sort of silver fish that swim in shoals, 
meeting the plank, leap over it and fall into the boat. Whether 
their fatal leap is prompted by fear or pleasure I have never 
been able to decide. Crossing the Ningpo River, I once saw 
a fine large carp throw itself into the ferry-boat. To me it 
appeared a piece of good fortune, but the boatman anathema- 
tized it furiously. He was sure that some member of his fam- 
ily was going to die. " For why should that kind of fish offer 
itself if there was not going to be a funeral? " he added. 

In a Chinese town, on the stroke of 9 p.m., a chorus resem- 
bling a war-cry is heard from the public patrol, mingled with 
a confused racket from the rattles of private watchmen, who 

begin their vigils at the 
same moment. From 
time to time during the 
night, the patrolmen re- 
peat their lugubrious 
yell ; and your watch- 
man comes to your win- 
dow and discharges a 
volley of blows on his 
hollow bamboo just to 
let you know that he is 
awake. When you are 
away from home you 
may be spared this in- 
terruption to your slum- 
bers ; but as your win- 
dows are of paper, with no shutters in summer, you may wake 
to find yourself minus a portion of your wardrobe. 

While we were at the seaside, Mr. Russell discovered one 




HE NIGHT I'ATKOL. 



VISITS ro THE ISLANDS 119 

morning that his trousers had disappeared. In the afternoon, 
when he showed himself on the beach in a pair of Dr. Mac- 
gowan's, the travesty of long and short was most amusing. 
Some one remarked that his legs were longing for their own 
garments and looking out for them. I have known a governor 
of Hong Kong to come back from a trip to the Great Wall 
clad in the borrowed habiliments of smaller men, and feehng 
that a new zest had been given to his excursion by his experi- 
ences at a Chinese inn. 

Beyond Chusan, to the east, and parted from it by a nar- 
row channel, Hes the sacred isle of Puto. Like lona in early 
times, and Mount Athos at the present day, it is exclusively 
an abode of monks, no native woman being allowed to live 
there on any pretext. This rule, however, is not enforced in 
the case of foreigners ; and, taking our wives and children with 
us, we sometimes sought refuge there from the heat of Ningpo. 
On one occasion the mercury had risen to 1060 Fahrenheit for 
three days in succession before we left home. 

The island, which is nine or ten miles in circumference, rises 
to the height of three thousand feet, in a noble peak, called 
Fotingshan ("the Head of Buddha"). One of the monasteries, 
situated in a cove with a fine beach, contains a hall of great 
height, resting on pillars wreathed with dragons. These, the 
priests told us, were taken from the Palace of the Nine Dra- 
gons, at Nanking, being sent as a pious offering by the Emperor 
Yunglo when he removed his court to the North, nearly five 
hundred years ago. 

In a part of the monastery overlooking the sea we found 
lodgings, in an apartment where there was a large image of 
Kwanyin, the goddess of mercy, the favorite divinity of the 
sacred isle. The priests permitted us to throw a white sheet 
over the head of the idol in order to secure our privacy, or, 
rather, to secularize the shrine. They were very accommo- 
dating, those priests, both in principle and in practice. One 



I20 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

of them coming to see me, I apologized for receiving him in 
our dining-room, especially as a joint of meat was exposed to 
view. " None but the weak are offended by such things," he 
sagely replied. "Things are not as they appear. We know 
their properties, but not their substance ; which, to go to the 
bottom, is either one thing or nothing." On returning the 
visit of this philosophic " bonze," I happened to admire in his 
room a gilded Buddha, which he at once took from its glass 
case and presented to me, accepting a. dollar in return. The 
case contained the ashes of freshly burned incense. 

In the daytime we climbed the hills or bathed in the surf, 
and in the evening inhaled the ocean breeze while we viewed 
the phosphorescent waves breaking on the shore in long bil- 
lows of flame. To this phenomenon — the finest of the kind 
to be seen in this part of the world — Puto owes its fame as a 
sacred island. It gave origin and color to a legend that the 
goddess of mercy was seen to arrive in a ship of fire, burning 
but unconsumed. 

On the further side of the mountain is an abrupt precipice 
overhanging a curious cavity made by the action of the waves. 
As the water rushes in and out with an awful roar, it is be- 
lieved to utter, in praise of Buddha, a syllable of the language 
of Magadha, and is therefore called Fan yin titJig, the cave of 
the Pn/i echo. So sacred has the place been rendered by this 
fiction that it has become a favorite resort for religious mani- 
acs to commit suicide. In cases of severe drought it is not 
uncommon for some one to offer his life to procure rain — ful- 
filling his vow by precipitating himself into the boiling vortex. 
The dragon -pools all over the empire are scenes of similar sac- 
rifices ; and a lofty waterfall, five or six hundred feet in height, 
at Snowy Valley, near Ningpo, also has its victims. These are 
voluntary ; but there are still traces in China of human sacri- 
fices of a different kind. 

When a Chinese army first marches against an enemy, it is 



VISITS TO THE ISLAXDS 121 

customary to offer a human victim, usually a criminal, to the 
spirit of the banner. In 1854, when a rebel stronghold was 
taken by Sengkolinsin, a Mongol prince, the prisoners were 
offered in sacrifice to the manes of his fallen soldiers — their 
hearts being eaten by the victors to increase their courage. 
The horrid orgy is minutely described by a native historian 
without any note of reprobation. 

Human blood is held to be the best cement for the founda- 
tions of high structures. There are numerous bridges whose 
stability is said to have been thus secured ; and so obstinate is 
the old superstition that, when an English cathedral was erected 
in Shanghai, it was rumored among the natives that twenty 
children had been buried under its walls. 

Anciently, it was customary every year to sacrifice a beauti- 
ful maiden to the god of the Yellow Riv^er. The rite, which 
was called the bridal of the river-god, was celebrated with 
great pomp and beheved to protect the country from devas- 
tating floods. The practice was abolished, however, before 
the beginning of our era, a wise magistrate having thrown the 
priestesses into the river, declaring that no others could be so 
acceptable to the deity. About the same time, the Duke of 
Wei dying, his widow was bent on having slaves immolated 
on his tomb. The duke's brother, who had enjoyed the per- 
sonal teachings of Confucius, said to her that as she was the 
favorite of his Highness she might immolate herself, but that 
no slave should be slain. She declined the honor, and the 
" grand custom," as it is called in Dahomey, ceased. When 
a wife commits suicide on the death of her husband she is 
praised as a model of virtue ; and I have heard of two recent 
cases of the old Indian practice of suttee, or widow-burning— 
one at Fuchau, the other at Wenchau. 

In 1855 our enjoyment of Puto was cut short by the ap- 
pearance of pirates. The Chusan Archipelago was always 
more or less infested by them ; and on our way out we had 



122 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

seen a band of them at a village on a neighboring island, giv- 
ing a theatrical entertainment to the gods as a thank-offering 
for their success in capturing a sugar-junk. 

Leaving our families on the island, my friend Russell and 
I returned to Ningpo, to send colporteurs to Hangchau with 
books for distribution at the provincial examination. This 
done, we were setting out for Puto, when a British merchant 
offered us arms to use in case of attack. We declined the 
weapons, convinced that we should be safer unarmed. Stop- 
ping in the harbor of Chusan to wait for a change of tide, we 
saw fifteen piratical junks pass in front of us, firing a few shots 
of defiance at some of the war-junks that lay at anchor. These 
made a show of pursuit, but soon returned to their moorings. 
As we were sailing in a direction opposite to that of the pirate 
fleet, we supposed the coast to be clear, and so proceeded on 
our way. 

At our evening devotions, I read the first passage my eye 
fell on. It was in the fourteenth of John : " Peace I leave with 
you, my peace I give unto you : not as the world giveth, give 
I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be 
afraid." Remarking how suitable these comforting words 
were to our circumstances, I spoke of the prevalence of 
piracy as well as of other unseen dangers, adding that "the 
world's peace consists in safety of body ; that which Christ gives, 
in tranquillity of soul." Russell followed with an extempora- 
neous prayer, in which he commended us to the safe-keeping 
of a faithful God. 

Going on deck, as we approached a narrow channel we saw 
many lights dancing over the surface of the water, and heard 
an occasional discharge of small arms. In a solitary place this 
looked suspicious ; and the next moment we perceived through 
the twilight the oudine of seven large Canton junks lying at 
anchor. We pursued our course, hoping to pass them unob- 
served ; but when we were just abreast of the fleet, a boat was 



VISITS TO THE ISIANDS 123 

lowered from the side of one of the junks and gave chase. 
The wind had fallen, and we were soon overtaken. Springing 
on board, the pirates began beating our sailors to compel them 
to slacken sail. Turning to us,. they said, Pu pa.pu pa (" You 
have nothing to fear"). 

Our boat was lashed to the side of a large junk, and the free- 
booters made free with our fresh provisions— the only booty 
they found in our possession. The pirates were evidently dis- 
appointed. " Who are you," they asked, " that you have no 
goods? As you have no opium, you are not merchants ; and 
as you have no firearms, you are not soldiers ; who and what 
are you? " " We are missionaries," we quietly replied. " Mis- 
sionaries!" exclaimed a handsome young man, whom we rec- 
ognized as the leader of the prize crew. " You preach about 
Jesus— you are good men; we will not hurt you." He then 
told us that he had been in a mission chapel at Whampo, near 
Canton, and there heard missionaries preach the gospel. Be- 
coming communicative, he added that he and his party, thrown 
out of business by the outbreak of rebellion, had been forced 
to take to the sea. " It was a bad business," he knew, " but 
there was no help for it." 

In searching our persons for money, of which they found 
very little, they had stripped off my coat and taken away Rus- 
sell's shoes and watch. My own watch, or rather my wife's, I 
had taken off and left at home, not wishing to risk the loss of 
an object which she held precious. Observing me in my shirt- 
sleeves, the young leader pointed to Russell and asked if we 
were not "all the same"? "Oh yes," said I; "but one of 
y onr fokees ["pals"] has carried my coat away." The young 
man left us and in a moment came back with the coat. The 
shoes, too, were restored, but not the watch ; which, however, 
was brought to the owner for an explanation of the mode of 
winding and setting. 

The young robber left us to our meditations with the en- 



124 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

couraging assurance that he would set us at liberty the next 
day. We, however, put little faith in his promise, as he was 
not commander of the fleet, but only of the gang that captured 
us. We passed the night without sleeping, thinking sadly of 
our families, who were expecting our return. Apart from such 
thoughts, sleep was out of the question, as squad after squad 
of sea-robbers, like fresh swarms of flies, kept coming to our 
boat all night, being either drawn by curiosity or attracted by 
the fresh stores we had laid in for family use. At daylight 
these were succeeded by a party of carpenters who commenced 
rigging up an additional deck, and piercing the sides with port- 
holes for guns. Approaching one of them, a hard-visaged 
wretch, I asked him what that meant, reminding him that the 
captain had promised to let us go. He rephed by drawing 
his hand across his throat and pointing to the water. At this 
demonstration we felt that our end was near, and naturally 
had little appetite for breakfast, even if we had had anything 
to eat. In this extremity the promise we had read from the 
gospel recurred to us, and the "peace of God, that passeth all 
understanding," kept our hearts and minds. 

It was not long before the young leader came with his crew 
to take possession of his prize. As they were spreading out 
their provisions in preparation for breakfast, he kindly inquired 
if we had taken ours. " Not yet," we replied ; "but we shall 
have some tea made," we added, with a sense of relief. Offer- 
ing him a cup— the only thing we had to offer— he pronounced 
it of bad quality, and sent to fetch a box which he said was 
better. We, of course, praised the flavor of his tea, and he, with 
Eastern politeness, made us a present of the box. Reassured 
by this friendly act that our lives were in no immediate dan- 
ger, though we thought it probable we should be held to ran- 
som, we ventiued to remind him of his promise to let us go. 
" So I will," he answered. " Then why are you making altera- 
tions in our boat? " we asked. "Because I have use for it," 



VISITS TO THE ISLANDS 125 

he replied. " I took another boat last night smaller than this ; 
you shall have that instead." Ordering the boat referred to, 
which had only one boatman, while ours had six, to come 
alongside, he put us in possession of it. Giving us a jar of 
wine as a parting present, he laid his hand on his heart and 
waved us adieu, promising to call and see us at our lodgings 
on shore. 

The pirates did, in fact, go on shore, but they did not find 
their way to our monastery. If they had they would have 
found our rooms deserted ; for, hearing of their landing and 
not caring to renew the acquaintance, we took our wives and 
children and hid ourselves among the rocks. The sequel of 
the story is soon told. The pirates were liable to repeat their 
visit at any moment, and we thought it prudent to regain the 
mainland as soon as possible. 

The first to leave the island was Mr. Cobbold. Entering the 
channel where our adventure occurred, he was horror-struck 
to see several of the pirates still anchored there. To retreat was 
as perilous as to advance. He and his wife and children, ac- 
cordingly, threw themselves down in the bottom of the boat, 
and the boatman, who was a fisherman, covering them with 
his nets, they passed the danger unperceived. The rest of us 
followed soon after without waiting to hear from Cobbold, but 
by this time, happily, the pirates were gone. 

At the mouth of the river we communicated with H. M. S. 
" Bittern," Captain Vansittart in command, who started in pur- 
suit of the pirates in tow of a Chinese steamer. Tracking them 
to Shipu,he found their whole force of thirty-seven heavy junks 
waiting the attack in a narrow inlet. In men and metal they 
much outnumbered their assailants, but science tells in such 
encounters. The Englishman shelled them at a safe distance, 
setting their junks on fire, when most of the pirates escaped to 
the shore. Our boat was identified by a letter found in the 
cabin bearing my wife's address. Not only was it exempted 



26 



A CYCLE OF CATHAY 



from the general destruction, but its captain was permitted to 
carry away a cargo of spoils, as compensation for what he 
and his men had suffered. Of the generous young leader to 
whom we owed our lives we never heard again ; and, as steam- 
ers have now become numerous in these waters, no such pirat- 
ical fleet has since that day been seen on the coast of China. 




A BUDDHIST MONK BpATlNG A VVOOPEN DRUM- 



CHAPTER IX 



THE TAIPING REBELLION 



On the Great River — A modern Mohammed — Mixed Christianity — For- 
eign opposition — A questionable policy 

A REBELLION that succeeds is never forgotten, having 
for its monument the state or dynasty to which it gives 
birth. All others are consigned to the limbo of abortions. To 
this law of destiny the movement headed by Kossuth in Hun- 
gary, and that which came so near unbinding our own sheaf 
of arrows, are no exceptions. Nor is that of the Taipings, 
which, after rolling its sanguinary flood over more than half the 
provinces of China, and threatening to overthrow her ancient 
paganism along with her Tartar rulers, was suppressed by for- 
eign intervention. Yet it deserves to be remembered, if only 
for the peculiar spirit by which its leaders were animated. I 
watched, its waxing and waning with the deepest interest; 
came in contact with active agents on both sides ; and at least 
endeavored to exert some influence on the course of events. 

The Manchu dynasty now on the throne has been, take it 
all in all, the best link in the long succession ; yet the Chinese 
have never been quite reconciled to a foreign domination. 
Tartar prestige was destroyed by the successes of the English 
in the so-called opium war, and latent discontent began to 
show itself in various quarters. In 1852, just ten years after 
the Treaty of Nanking, the world was electrified by the news 

127 



128 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

that a body of native Christians, goaded to revolt by official 
persecution, had placed themselves at the head of the malcon- 
tents and were leading them on to victory. Starting among 
the mountains of the extreme South, their chief. Hung Siu 
Chuen, asserted a claim to the throne when his followers were 
only a handful. Leaving his rocky fastnesses, he had the 
courage to face imperial armies in the open plain. These he 
either defeated or evaded, and without wasting time in sitting 
down before any walled city which he might fail to take by 
assault, he pushed on to the North, with growing forces, until 
he struck the Great River at the famous mart of Hankow, eight 
hundred and fifty miles from the sea. 

Till then Hung had been reported to the throne as in full 
retreat, while the government troops were in hot pursuit ; but 
he grew stronger by defeat, and his flight was always to the 
North, Capturing Hankow and the two neighboring cities, 
he freighted a thousand junks with their spoils, and swept 
down the river like a winter flood, until he reached Nanking, 
the southern capital. This and not Peking he made his objec- 
tive point, because Hungwu, who expelled the Mongols and 
founded the native dynasty of Ming in 1388, bad made it the 
seat of his government. A better reason would have been its 
natural advantages, had he known how to profit by them, as 
the most commanding site for the capital of the empire. 
Nanking fell after a brief investment, and the Manchu garri- 
son of twenty-five thousand were butchered to a man. The 
rich cities of Yangchau and Chinkiang, with others of less 
note in the vicinity, became an easy prey. 

Seated in the palace of the old Ming emperors, the first half 
of Hung's mighty undertaking was accomplished. History 
presents few pages more brilliant than this part of his career. 
Sherman's march to the sea must be combined with Garibaldi's 
successful assault on the kingdom of Naples, backed by only 
a thousand men, to furnish an adequate parallel. Happy for 



THE TAIPING REBELLION 129 

him had he, like Garibaldi, found a Cavour to convert his 
insurrection into a revolution! 

The fall of the old capital into the hands of any body of 
insurgents would have been matter of grave concern for the 
whole world ; but when those insurgents were known to be 
Christians— not simply fighting for empire, but carrying on a 
crusade against the paganism of their country— the excite- 
ment knew no bounds. Merchants began to speculate as to 
the effect of their success on trade ; missionaries discussed its 
probable bearings on the propagation of the faith ; and diplo- 
matists—the only class who were free to investigate for them- 
selves—sought the earliest opportunity for ascertaining the 
facts by a visit to Nanking. 

I too resolved to see for myself, though I had no man-of-war 
to wait on me or national flag to float over my head. Young 
and ardent, the dangers of the attempt but served to render 
it more fascinating. Accompanied by a native Christian, I 
took passage in a small coasting- vessel, and we encountered a 
storm, which compelled us for a time to seek shelter among the 
islands. At Shanghai I hired a native junk and purchased a 
skiff ; the former to carry me as far as the imperial squadron 
below Chinkiang, the latter to enable me to run the blockade 
and enter the rebel lines. These preparations were made with 
the utmost secrecy, the American minister having forbidden 
his countrymen to hold communication with the rebels; and 
to elude the vigilance of the United States marshal, I put to 
sea from Woosung in a thunder-storm. 

After a rough night, in passing from one river to the other 
we found ourselves abreast the island of Dzungming, a place 
that deserves mention as one of the curiosities of geography. 
Thirty miles in length, incomparably fertile, smiling with rice- 
fields and vegetable gardens, interspersed with the habitations 
of six hundred thousand souls, and forming by itself an ad- 
ministrative district of no small importance, it is the youngest 



130 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

birth of the sea. The precise date of its emergence is impos- 
sible to fix. That occurrence, however, was accepted as an 
offset for the subsidence of another locahty, and made suffi- 
cient impression on the pubhc mind to give rise to a proverb 
for unexpected compensations : " Down goes Tungking ; up 
comes Dzungming." The name, if not the event, dates from 
the Ming period, which began in the fourteenth century. As 
soon as a few thrifty peasants got a foothold, they fortified 
their position by embankments in such a way as to protect 
their fields from erosion, and to encourage the turbid waters 
to deposit there the alluviuni brought from distant mountains. 
Thus have nature and man wrought together, creating a new 
physical feature on the face of the earth. 

During the night my skiff had gone adrift, but I counted 
on obtaining another near my destination. After working our 
way against the current for two days, we reached'the neighbor- 
hood of Chinkiang, which commands the transit of the Grand 
Canal. There we saw war-junks at anchor, and imperial bat- 
teries on shore. Being hailed from a battery, I ordered my 
boatmen to give no heed to the summons, but to hold on our 
way on the further side of the stream, and trust to its width for 
protection against any chance shot that might be sent after us. 
Instead of a shot a boat came in pursuit, and, having many 
oars, it soon overtook us. Leaping aboard, the soldiers began 
to handle our boatmen roughly for their disobedience ; but 
when I showed myself they desisted, and retired without ask- 
ing a question, taking me for one of the foreign officers in the 
imperial fleet. 

If they had taken the trouble to search, they might have 
found on my person a compromising document— nothing less, 
indeed, than a letter tendering my services to the rebel chief. 
No sooner were their backs turned than I promptly destroyed 
it, not choosing to hazard discovery in passing the next en- 
campment. Ascending a few miles farther, I endeavored to 



THE TAiriNG REBELLION 131 

induce fishermen to carry me to the rebel outposts ; but they 
refused to incur the risk at any price, being in danger from 
both parties. My own boatmen refused for the same reason. 
After lying concealed all day in the high reeds, I reluctantly 
gave the word to drop down the stream, under cover of night, 
to avoid another visit from the batteries. We were hailed as 
before, but, owing to the darkness, not pursued. A greater 
danger was encountered farther on. On shore a flambeau was 
waved to attract our attention, and a voice warned us not to 
proceed, as there were "pirates in the ofiing." " More likely 
the pirates are on shore," I said to my boatmen ; and dropping 
anchor at a safe distance from both, we waited for day, when, 
resuming our course, we reached Shanghai without further 
molestation. My attempt to visit the rebel headquarters with 
no other means at my disposal was certainly foolhardy, and 
well it was that it failed. There are few men who have not 
reason, if they but knew it, to thank God for failure as well 
as for success. 

In the humor in which the insurgents then were— flushed 
with victory and wild with fanaticism — no foreigner could 
have exerted any beneficial influence. To them the restraints 
of morality were as flax in the flames ; and what purpose 
would it serve to attempt to mould the theology of a people 
who received revelations from Heaven? 

Two years later a missionary did succeed in reaching the 
rebel camp, one whose prestige was unique, the Rev. Issachar 
Roberts, of Canton. From him in earher days the chief had 
received religious instruction ; he was now invited to aid him 
in the enlightenment of his people. It was a splendid oppor- 
tunity, but no good came of it. Was it owing to inveterate 
corruption in the insurgents, or to want of tact and breadth in 
Roberts, or to both? W^as it because he sought to curb their 
thirst for blood and plunder? Or did he give offense by seeking 
to induce them to adopt immersion and abandon the new mode 



132 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

of baptism which they had invented for themselves? — viz., the 
washing of the bosom with a towel dipped in water, in token 
of cleansing the heart? However this may be, he soon quar- 
reled with his catechumen and had to fly for his life. 

Unsuccessful in my attempt to observe for myself, I was 
fortunate in meeting with natives who had been among the in- 
surgents. One of these, a Ningpo man, had been pressed into 
the rebel ranks at Chinkiang. He had fought many a battle, 
with government guns in front and rebel spears behind. He 
had suffered from hunger and cold ; and, tired of an existence 
as monotonous as it was hopeless, he seized the first chance 
of escape. Though himself something of a poltroon, he bore 
strong testimony to the confidence and courage of the original 
Taipings. Believing in the divine mission of their leader, the 
rebel army never despaired, even in the midst of disaster. 
Once they were cut off from communication with Nanking, 
and reduced to extremities— the Tartar general, who was also 
governor of the province, directing his whole force to the re- 
duction of Chinkiang, as a woodman cuts the roots to fell a 
tree. Messenger after messenger had been sent to Nanking 
for succor; but there was no response. At length, when it 
seemed as if they could hold out no longer, a veteran officer 
volunteered to make a supreme effort to elude the besiegers 
and obtain relief. " If," said he, " I am successful in reach- 
ing our chief, and if he promises succor, you will learn it by 
seeing a quantity of charcoal coming down with the current." 
How eagerly they kept their eyes on the broad river! How 
their hearts leaped when, on the third day, they saw the ex- 
pected signal! Those floating coals kindled their hopes anew ; 
and, making a determined sortie to meet the reinforcements 
from Nanking, the imperial camp was attacked on both sides, 
the governor was slain, his troops were scattered, and the siege 
was raised. 

This was a typical incident, such as occurred many times ; 



THE TAIPING REBELLION 133 

the rebels, when driven to their last ditch, gathering courage 
from despair and winning a brilliant victory. Of their religious 
usages, so strange and novel in the eyes of Chinese, I had 
learned something from other sources ; but it was intensely in- 
teresting to hear this young man tell how their chief styled 
himself younger brother to Jesus Christ, called God his Father, 
published the ten commandments, and imposed on all his sub- 
jects the observance of a Sabbath day, on which their highest 
officers ascended the pulpit and thundered against idolatry 
and the Tartars. 

The stoppage of trade throughout the vast region exposed 
to their incursions, and their stringent prohibition of opium, 
created a prejudice against them in a mercantile community ; 
and foreign ministers were disposed to favor any form of in- 
terference for the suppression of what they regarded as a horde 
of brigands. At this juncture I published a series of letters ad- 
dressed to Caleb Gushing, showing that in rapine and cruelty 
the Taipings only conformed to the historic type of Chinese 
revolutionary bodies ; that in the principles they professed lay 
the germ of a new order of things, such as it would be vain to 
expect from a superannuated dynasty running in the grooves 
of precedent ; but asking for them nothing more than the 
observance of a strict neutrality. Those letters, it was said, 
changed the current of opinion, and delayed the day of inter- 
vention ; but it came nevertheless, and it sealed the fate of the 
Taiping dynasty. The suppression of a revolution by force ah 
extra always reverses the wheels of progress ; and in this in- 
stance who can tell by how many centuries it has postponed 
the adoption of Christianity by the Chinese people? 

While it is true that nothing but the active aid of foreign- 
ers saved the Manchu government at more than one critical 
moment in the course of this long conflict, it is equally certain 
that the ignorance of the rebel chief is primarily responsible for 
his disastrous failure. Confident in his destiny, and following 



134 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

the example of Hungwu, he contented himself with sending 
an expedition into the northern provinces, in utter neglect of 
the sea-coast with its ports of trade. He was not aware how 
much the conditions of success had altered. Above all, he 
failed to perceive that the casting vote for the occupant of the 
dragon throne was in the hands of merchants from the West. 
Instead of descending promptly to Shanghai, wdiere he might 
have strengthened himself by the resources of commerce and 
by foreign munitions of war, he left these advantages to his 
enemy. To both parties Shanghai proved to be the pivot of 
destiny. 

This man, who came so near playing a magnificent role, Avas 
named, as we have said. Hung Siu Chuen, a native of Hwahien, 
in the Canton province. In early youth he had aspired to liter- 
ary honors, and had gone to Canton to compete for them. While 
there he met with Liangafa, a native evangelist, a disciple of 
Morrison, and received from his hands a tract which made a 
deep impression on his mind. In this tract the name used for 
God was Shcuigti (" Supreme Ruler "), a title to which the 
ancient Chinese had always attached their highest ideas of the 
Supreme Being. The new creed under an old name took pos- 
session of his whole soul, and he began to propagate it. Feel- 
ing the need of further instruction, he again repaired to Canton, 
at a distance of several hundred miles, in quest of a mission- 
ary. There he was received into the house of the Rev. Issa- 
char Roberts, an American Baptist. He departed, however, 
without the rite of baptism ; and when he introduced the rite 
among his followers it was neither immersion nor sprinkling, 
but, as above described, a tertium quid, not less expressive. 

At that time Hung seemed to have formed no political de- 
signs, and failed to impress his instructor by any very remark- 
able quahty, unless that of earnestness. His earnestness proved 
contagious. A company of believers was soon gathered ; and 
in teaching them, he, like Mohammed, supplemented existing 



THE TAIPING REBELLION 135 

texts by fresh rev-elations. Persecution, which never sleeps in 
a country where every departure from tradition is heresy, drove 
these unoffending beHevers to self-defense. Their first victory 
transformed them into a pohtical faction. Other factions, 
already in arms, were absorbed, the leader accepting their aid 
on condition of their adopting the new faith. From this point, 
or perhaps from the hour of his conversion, Hung's career con- 
forms so closely to that of the Arabian prophet that he might 
be suspected of taking him for his model, were it not certain 
that he was totally unacquainted with the history of Moham- 
med. Like causes produce like effects. Like Mohammed, 
Hung derived his first impulse from Christianity, with which 
he blended something of Old Testament Judaism ; and, like 
him, he shaped his teachings to suit the habits of his people. 

He sanctioned robbery and violence, and himself set the ex- 
ample of polygamy, an example eagerly followed by his sub- 
ordinates, who had no scruple in filling their harems with the 
wives and daughters of their enemies. His camp, hke that of 
Moses in the wilderness, was a school of religion. Each com- 
pany chanted a hymn as they sat down to meat ; and every 
seventh day (the seventh being observed by mistake instead 
of the first) his captains ascended the pulpit and preached 
long sermons, in which the possession of an earthly king- 
dom was made more prominent than the joys of a heavenly 
paradise. 

Hung distributed among them manuals composed by him- 
self, which, to aid the memory, were mostly in verse, some of 
them replete with Scripture truth, others full of extravagant 
fancies. Here are a few specimens of both. In an " Ode for 
Youth " he says : 

" Let the true God, the great Supreme Ruler, 
Be honored and adored by all nations ; 
Let all the inhabitants of the world 
Unite in his worship morning and evening." 



136 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

" Above and below, look where you may, 
All things are imbued with the divine favor ; 
All things were created in six days, perfect and complete." 

"Jesus, his first-born Son, 
Was in former times sent by God ; 
He willingly gave his life to redeem us from sin ; 
After his resurrection he ascended to heaven ; 
Resplendent in glory, he wields authority supreme." 

" Honor and shame come from one's self." 

" Keep the ten commandments, 
And enjoy bliss in heaven." 

In contrast to these pure doctrines, we have the following 
in another book of verse : 

" He [the Chief] was received up into heaven, 
Where the great God personally instructed him, 
Gave him odes and documents, 
With a seal and sword. 
And majesty irresistible. 

The celestial Mother was kind and exceedingly gracious ; 
The celestial Elder Brother's wife was virtuous and prudent." 

In a " Book of Decrees " we read : 

" The great God said, on the top of Kaolao Hill 
There is a pencil in the form of a cross ; 
Pray, and you will get a response." 

Not only does Hung take " the bride, the Lamb's wife," of 
the Apocalypse in a literal sense ; Chinese dualism and his 
own sense of symmetry incline him to give a consort to the 
Heavenly Father. He had never heard of Mormonism, but 
his reasoning is that of the Mormon hymn : 

" In the heavens are parents single ? 

No! the thought makes reason stare; 



THE TAIFING REBELLION 137 

Truth is reason — truth eternal 

Tells me I've a Mother there " — 

not a deceased parent, but the "eternal feminine." 

In the " pencil in the form of a cross," he appropriates and 
Christianizes a well-known Taoist mode of divination called 
fula?i* Special revelations were, however, mostly received 
through Yang, his prime minister, as. a spiritualistic me- 
dium. The door was thus opened to unlimited corruption and 
imposture. 

Once, when Hung had broken some of the regulations 
which he had promulgated as laws of God, he signified a 
wish to make expiation. The premier immediately went into 
a cataleptic fit ; and in that hypnotic condition, personating the 
Heavenly Father, ordered his Majesty to receive forty blows 
of the bamboo. 

The Taipings, like the revolutionists of France, to borrow 
the words of Sir Walter Scott, "changed everything — from 
the rites of reHgion to the fashion of a shoe-buckle." They 
changed the style of dress, and ordained that instead of shav- 
ing the head, which is a mark of subjection to the Manchus, 
their adherents should let their hair grow. This caused them 
to be stigmatized as "long-haired robbers." They altered, in 
many instances, the orthography of the Chinese language ; e.g., 
writing the word for " soul " with a radical for " man " instead 
of "devil," because, as they said, the devil ought to be cast 
out. They changed the title of the sovereign from Hwa^igii 
to Wang, because the former seemed to infringe on that of 
Shangti, the Supreme Ruler. Tie7ichao (" Celestial Empire ") 
they turned into Tienkwo (" kingdom of heaven "), a Scripture 
phrase; joining with it the words fai ping ("great peace"), to 
indicate the coming of a time when the "nations shall learn 
war no more." Their chief was called, mostly in irony, Tai- 

* See p. 106. 



13^ A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

ping Wang (" Prince of Peace "). The doxology in honor of the 
emperor, " May he hve ten thousand years," they retained, but 
evolved from it a whole system of new titles, ordaining that 
the prince next in dignity should be entitled to a doxology of 
nine thousand, the third to eight, the fourth to seven, and so on 
in a diminishing series, according to a formula of ;/ — i . The 
principle of a civil-service examination they accepted ; but the 
books of Confucius were banished, and those of Jesus Christ 
substituted — texts for competition being selected from the Old 
or the New Testament, an edition of which was pubhshed by 
them at Nanking. 

Had the tremendous significance of this innovation been duly 
appreciated, might it not have led Western governments to as- 
sume a different attitude toward the rising power? It showed 
the grim earnestness of the insurgents, not less devoted to the 
Bible nor less ready to die for their convictions than Hugue- 
not or Covenanter, giving mortal offense to the learned classes 
by decanonizing the books of Confucius, but opening the way 
for a new career by cutting the leading-strings of antiquity. 
Nor was this a bid for recognition by the Western powers, of 
which they knew little and for which they cared less. A little 
more knowledge w^ould have prompted them to push their way 
to the sea and put themselves in communication with Chris- 
tendom without delay. 

Their neglect of Shanghai was, as I have said, a fatal mis- 
take. The first result of that oversight was the capture of the 
city by a nondescript body of harpies, known as Redheads. 
They belonged to the Triad Society, and had no sympathy with 
the reforms proposed by the Taiping chief. Some of their 
foremost men had been servants in foreign employ. One of 
them was Ahling, '' Skinner's horse-boy." Though not con- 
nected with the insurgents at Nanking, they were regarded as 
fighting in a common cause, and their conduct was such as to 
make the foreign community, horrified by scenes of blood, 



THE TAir/.VG REBELLION 139 

ready to welcome any expedient for the restoration of peace. 
The Redheads were expelled after a long siege by the aid of 
the French, who breached the walls. In i860 the English 
in a similar manner aided the imperialists to retake Ningpo,* 
which a few months previous had fallen into the hands of the 
Taipings, who had taken most of the large cities in the prov- 
inces of Chekiang and Kiangsu. They approached Shang- 
hai, but were deterred from making an attack by finding it de- 
fended by a combined force of the alHed nations. 

In the meantime, General Ward, an American adventurer, 
took service under the taotai of Shanghai, and there organized 
a native force with a nucleus of foreigners of various nation- 
alities. He it was who first showed what could be done with 
Chinese soldiers by arms, disciphne, and valiant leadership ; re- 
taking city after city, and crowning an unbroken series of vic- 
tories by falling bravely under the walls of Tseche. To him 
belongs the honor of turning the tide and teaching the Chi- 
nese to help themselves ; nor have they been slow to acknow- 
ledge their obligations to him— erecting, after their fashion, a 
memorial temple at Sungkiang, the chief scene of his exploits. 
The United States consul, who happened to be a missionary, 
was invited to assist at its dedication. He doubtless " rent his 
garments," or at least divested himself of his white necktie, 
when he saw incense and roast pigs offered to the manes of 
the defunct general. 

^ Colonel Gordon, the hero of Khartoum, succeeded to the 
command of Ward's force, raising it to higher efficiency, break- 
ing the rebel power, and insuring the fall of their capital by 
the recapture of Suchau. 

When Nanking was recovered, in 1864, after a siege as pro- 
tracted as that of Troy, the same scenes of butchery took place 
that had followed its capture by the rebels. The chief and 

* I was in the United States, or I might have had some notes of the 
rebel occupation. 



I40 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

many of his followers committed suicide to escape vengeance. 
An incident which occurred shortly after it fell into the hands 
of the Taipings may be mentioned here as illustrating the con- 
dition of the Chinese mind. The governor of Canton, being 
ordered to destroy the family tombs of the rebel leaders, re- 
ported to the throne that on digging them up he had found 
a terrapin covered with green hair. Thinking this uncanny 
animal might have something to do with the rise of the rebel 
power, he had pinned it to the earth with copper nails dipped 
in hme! 

In the " Life of Dr. Judson" we are told that, on the outbreak 
of the first war with Burmah, the king ordered a Hon which 
had been presented by the viceroy of India to be imprisoned 
and starved to death, lest by some magical influence he should 
contribute to the success of British arms. Judson, who was 
confined in the same prison, witnessed the dying agonies of the 
noble beast, and then sought and obtained the privilege of oc- 
cupying his vacant cage. This fetish philosophy the Burmese 
borrowed from China. Among the presents sent the Emperor 
Kiaching, in 1816, by the King of England, it is said there was 
a burning-glass of great power. No sooner had the embassy 
left the capital than a council was called to decide what should 
be done with it. All agreed that it was a magical eye, which 
would enable a foreign potentate to see into the palace ; and 
after being broken to pieces it was buried in the earth. This 
story is probably true, though I have not been able to verify 
it. Nothing could be more in harmony with the Chinese way 
of thinking. For such superstitions Christianity is the best, if 
not the only, remedy— rooting up along with idolatry its entire 
brood of geomancy, fortune-telling, and magic. 

In i860, when Peking was taken by the Allies, the rebels 
still held many strong positions in the valley of the Yang-tse. 
The emperor having fled to Tartary, Lord Elgin thought 



THE TAIPING REBELLION 141 

seriously of opening negotiations with the insurgent chief, but 
was deterred by the opposition of Baron Gros, who, adopting 
the views of Roman CathoHc missionaries, dishked the insur- 
gents because their rehgion was reported to be of a Protestant 
type, and because, being iconoclasts, they had not taken care 
to distinguish between Christian images and pagan idols. 

Bishop Mouly, who, in a pamphlet styled a " Memorial to 
the Throne," had vindicated his co-religionists from suspicion 
of comphcity by denouncing the insurgents as converts to Prot- 
estantism, enjoyed, no doubt, a sort of triumph. But his policy 
was not marked by that far-reaching wisdom with which the 
Church of Rome is credited. For are not Protestants easier to 
convert than pagans? And would not a ruler who styled him- 
self the " younger brother of Jesus Christ " be more Hkely to 
submit to the holy see than one who calls himself the " Son 
of Heaven"? Protestants the insurgents were not, Protes- 
tant missionaries disowned them ; and Colonel Gordon, as de- 
vout a Christian as any that followed Cromwell, felt that he 
was doing God service in mowing them down. 

Looking back at this distance of time, with all the light of 
subsequent history upon the events, we are still inclined to 
ask whether a different policy might not have been better for 
China. Had foreign powers promptly recognized the Tai- 
ping chief on the outbreak of the second war, might it not have 
shortened a chapter of horrors that dragged on for fifteen 
more years, ending in the Nienfei and Mohammedan rebel- 
hons, and causing the loss of fifty millions of human lives? Is 
it not probable that the new power would have shown more 
aptitude than the old one for the assimilation of new ideas, as 
in chemistry nascent elements enter into combinations that 
are impossible for those that have long enjoyed a separate 
existence? 

In international politics it too often happens that present in- 



142 



A CYCLE OF CATHAY 



terests are allowed to outweigh prospective advantages. Thus 
it came to pass that, more than once when the insurgents were 
on the verge of success, the prejudices of short-sighted diplo- 
mats decided against them, and an opportunity was lost such 
as does not occur once in a thousand years. 




THE GOD OF WAK. 



CHAPTER X 

THE " ARROW " WAR 
Expedition to the North — Fruitless negotiations — Capture of Taku 

IN the autumn of 1856 a chance spark at Canton produced 
an explosion that shook the empire and opened wider the 
breach already made in the wall of exclusiveness. The occur- 
rence was on this wise. The lorcha " Arrow," a Chinese ves- 
sel flying the British flag — a privilege for which she had, in 
conformity with a vicious system then in vogue, paid a small 
fee to the government of Hong Kong— was seized by the Chi- 
nese authorities, and her crew thrown into prison on a charge 
of piracy. The British consul, Mr. (afterward Sir Harry) 
Parkes, lodged a protest, claiming jurisdiction on the ground 
that the lorcha was registered in a British colony, and demand- 
ing not merely that the prisoners be restored to the deck of 
their vessel, but that the British flag be hoisted at the mast- 
head, in expiation of the affront offered in hauling it down. 

The viceroy Yeh, who was notoriously proud and obstinate, 
yielded so far as to send the captives under guard to the con- 
sulate. It takes two to make a quarrel, but no two could be 
better fitted to produce one and to nurse it into a war than the 
two who were parties in this dispute. Had prompt release of 
the captives been accepted as sufficient amends, there would 
have been no war — at least, no " Arrow " war ; but the consul, 
young, hot-headed, and inexperienced, unwilling to abate a jot 
of his demands, refused to receive the captives. They were car- 

143 



144 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

ried back to the viceroy, who, in a fit of anger, ordered them to 
be beheaded. He was a truculent wretch, who boasted of the 
thousands he had decapitated for complicity in rebellion ; no 
wonder, therefore, that he was hasty in cutting off the heads 
of a dozen boatmen. 

At this stage Mr. Parkes referred the matter to Sir John 
Bowring, governor of Hong Kong; and the viceroy proving 
obdurate to all attempts to extract an apology, the governor 
placed the affair in the hands of Admiral Seymour. That 
brave officer, having lost an eye by the explosion of a Russian 
torpedo in the Baltic, could see only one way to negotiate. 
Appearing before the city, he invited the viceroy to meet him 
outside the gates. The stubborn old mandarin declining the 
interview, he announced his intention of calHng at the vice- 
regal palace. This he did at the hour named, though he had 
to blow up one of \hi city gates in order to keep his engage- 
ment. He, however, reckoned without his host ; the viceroy 
was not at home ; and the little squad of marines, only three 
hundred, withdrew to their ships, their daring feat having had 
no other effect than to fan a firebrand into a conflagration. 
Scarcely had they retired when the foreign quarter was set on 
fire by an infuriated populace. The foreigners took refuge 
on the shipping, and the shipping dropped down the river to 
Hong Kong. 

The little settlement at Hong Kong was in no small peril, 
its chief danger being a possible rising of the Chinese. But 
overwhelming as were their numbers, they refrained from open 
action, trusting perhaps to the effect of poison, which Alum, 
the city baker, mixed with his dough. The mixture was too 
strong and defeated its object ; only two or three died, though 
many suffered ; and it was agreed on all hands that for once 
there was too much alum in the bread. 

This rupture was recognized as the beginning of a war, and 
troops were despatched to the scene ; and the British govern- 



THE "ARROW WAR 145 

ment — by no means so selfish as usually represented — com- 
mitted the mistake of inviting the cooperation of the other 
treaty powers. The French were asked with the idea of keep- 
ing alive a simulacrum of the Crimean alliance ; but this brought 
embarrassment rather than help, and led to the French con- 
quest of Annam — their first expedition against that empire 
being an episode in the war with China. America and Rus- 
sia had no ground for taking part in the hostilities. But the 
French emperor, who had suffered many a murdered mission- 
ary to go unavenged, just at this juncture met with a case — 
that of Pere Chapdelaine — which served him as a pretext for 
joining his forces with those of the English. His real motive 
was to checkmate his allies and prevent their gathering the 
fruits of an inevitable victory. 

In December, 1857, Canton was taken, and the viceroy was 
captured and carried away to Calcutta, where he died. Mean- 
while trade at the northern ports was uninterrupted, and the 
Emperor of China appeared utterly indifferent to what was 
going on at Canton, considering the conflict as a local dis- 
turbance of no great moment. To wake him from his dream 
of supremacy the Allies resolved to transfer the scene to the 
North. America and Russia, though remaining neutral, seized 
the opportunity as favorable for the revision of their treaties. 
The following spring saw four powers knocking at the outer 
gates of the capital — two of them with the gentle tap of friend- 
ship, the other two with the heavy blows of belHgerents. 

The first war had relaxed but had not overthrown the ex- 
clusive policy and haughty pretensions of China. Four addi- 
tional points of commercial contact had been gained, but the 
court itself was still inaccessible. Ministers accredited to the 
emperor must content themselves with an occasional interview 
with a provincial governor. There was no possibility of their 
complaints reaching the throne. 

In 1854 the British and American ministers had presented 



146 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

themselves at Taku in the hope of opening the way to Peking, 
but they were sent back with their letters in their pockets. The 
next year a letter of President Pierce was returned to Fuchau 
with its seal broken, accompanied by a message that it must 
come by way of Canton in order to receive attention. The 
young Emperor Hienfung, far from profiting by the experience 
of his father, thought only of restoring the old regime. When 
he ascended the throne, in 1850, Chang Ki Shin, one of his 
ministers, adjured him, by the shade of his father, to impose 
the same restrictions all along the coast that had previously 
existed at Canton, but to " aim at securing order in his own 
dominions prior to any demonstration abroad." The Queen 
of Great Britain sent him, by way of Taku, a letter of con- 
gratulation on his accession, and this is the way he received it : 
" Foreigners," he says in a decree relating to it, " are under 
obligation to be grateful for our generosity ; but their recent 
proceedings in forwarding despatches direct to ministers of 
state can be looked on only as contumacious and insulting." 

AVith a man of such a spirit peace was impossible. Rela- 
tions required readjustment, and the " Arrow " afforded an oc- 
casion, as opium had done. In both cases, so far as the im- 
mediate question was concerned, British arms were upholding 
the weaker side. As to the merits of the " Arrow " case, Sir 
John Bowring appears to have thought himself in the right ; 
for he took the extraordinary step of having his correspon- 
dence with the Canton viceroy circulated among the Chinese 
on the seaboard. Mr. Sinclair, the British consul at Ningpo, 
handed me a copy and asked my opinion. I replied that it 
showed the Chinese authorities to better advantage than the 
British. His own impression, he said, was the same. He ac- 
cordingly distributed none at that port. 

Hearing that the United States minister, Mr. Reed, was 
going to the North, it occurred to me that by joining the ex- 
pedition I might see stirring events and perhaps find a new 



THE ''ARROW WAR 



147 



field for missionary enterprise. The northern dialect I had 
acquired several years before, and my command of it had been 
improved by frequent intercourse with Chinese officials. The 
United States consul, Dr. Bradley, having no paid interpreter, 
had engaged me for occasional duty in that capacity. An- 
noyed that I refused to accept money for my services, he ex- 
erted himself to procure for me a position in connection with 
the American legation. My apphcation, supported by him 
and by Dr. Williams, then Chinese secretary to the legation, 
was successful. The answer was brought by a special steamer, 
the " Antelope," which conveyed me to Shanghai, where I was 
accepted by Mr. Reed as interpreter for the court dialect. 




CHINESE PORTRAIT-FAINTER 



Desirous of preserving sketches of remarkable scenes, there 
being no kodaks in those days, I took with me a young artist 
of Ningpo, who, from professional ambition rather than for pay, 
consented to accompany me as a body-servant, the only capa- 



148 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

city in which his passage would be allowed. Chinese art is 
eminently original. A horizontal plane is represented by a 
steep gradient ; in mountain scenery they pile Pelion on Ossa ; 
and in depicting a crowd make them stand on one another's 
heads. Their sketches, like their speech, consequently require 
translation. 

Mr. Reed and his secretaries, including Consul Bradley, 
proceeded North in the '* Minnesota," with Captain Dupont 
(afterward Admiral), leaving me to follow in the "Antelope," 
whose captain was a notoriously " tough customer." Imagin- 
ing that I might have scruples about leaving port on Sunday, 
Captain Dupont had informed me that my wishes would be 
respected. When, however, I expressed a preference for put- 
ting to sea on Friday, Captain Lynch objected on conscien- 
tious grounds, and insisted on weighing anchor on Sunday, 
April 2d, also on conscientious grounds. With a conscience 
so constructed I thought it best not to interfere. At Taku our 
frigate was anchored twelve miles from the batteries ; the ships 
of the other ministers, being of lighter draft, were nearer in, 
but outside the bar and far beyond cannon-shot. The " Ante- 
lope " had been chartered for a tender, but she was too large 
for the purpose, and only succeeded in crossing the bar by the 
help of a Russian vessel after emptying boilers and bunkers. 
She then got aground in an awkward position near the forts ; 
and in carrying communications, instead of steaming in and 
out I was compelled to make use of a sail-boat. 

On my arrival, Mr, Reed showed me a despatch from Tan, 
the viceroy of Chihli, announcing his appointment to negotiate 
on behalf of the emperor, and inviting him to an interview. 
I was also given a copy of the President's letter to the em- 
peror to translate into Chinese, To those accustomed to them, 
forms of address are of little consequence ; but Hienfung 
must have been either amused or nidignant to find himself ad- 
dressed by President Buchanan as " great and good friend," 



THE "ARROW WAR 149 

when Queen Victoria styled him " most high, most mighty, and 
most glorious prince." The viceroy's letter, which was iden- 
tical with that sent to the other envoys, had in each case the 
name of the foreign country a space lower than that of China. 
By three of the envoys the communication was promptly sent 
back for coiTCCtion ; and it came again in due form, with an 
apology throwing the blame on a copyist. The Russian min- 
ister, Count Poutiatine, made no objection, not caring to risk 
for a trifle his position as friend of China and possible medi- 
ator. But such things are not trifles with an arrogant govern- 
ment like that of China. 

On the 24th instant, going ashore to convey the answer of 
Mr. Reed, I was taken on a British gunboat, along with Mr. 
(afterward Sir Thomas) Wade and the French secretary, who 



f' 



;« 



■>^ 



"^-fel../ 



, . 1 



L*^-. 



P 






BATTERIES AT THE MOU IH UF 1 HE PEIHO 



were charged with the missives of their respective ministers. 
A Chinese colonel who received the despatches, being asked 
to give a receipt, replied, " I am a soldier and cannot write." 



ISO A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

The British and French ambassadors, Lord Elgin and Baron 
Gros, dedined to meet the viceroy because he was not styled 
a "plenipotentiary" — a pitiful quibble, which had the effect 
of reopening hostihties. The neutrals were not so exacting ; 
Mr. Reed and Count Poutiatine each arranged for a separate 
meeting. 

An occasional extract from my journal may serve to repro- 
duce the scenes of those eventful days. 

"April 2oth. An interview took place to-day between the 
Russian count and the viceroy, with whom are associated two 
other commissioners, Chunglun and AVurguntai, Manchus from 
Peking. He remained three hours, and succeeded in avert- 
ing a hostile collision. While they were engaged in conference, 
six gunboats of the Allies crossed the bar and steamed in 
directly toward the batteries. All was excitement on shore ; 
preparations were made to annihilate the intruders, and but for 
his solemn warning a battle would have taken place there and 
then. Forbearance, he said, would be taken as a proof of 
friendly disposition, and would facilitate an amicable setde- 
ment. The viceroy replied that he had stringent orders not 
to permit a ship of war to pass the bar. His Tartar col- 
leagues were clamorous for war, but Tan took the count's ad- 
vice, and the gunboats were allowed to drop anchor within 
easy range." 

" May 3d. Mr. Reed's meeting with the viceroy took place 
this afternoon. In the forenoon, Dr. Williams, Consul Brad- 
ley, and I went to the batteries to arrange certain details— to 
ascertain whether the place of meeting would be decent and 
commodious, the landing safe and convenient, etc. Nor was 
this a superfluous precaution. The Chinese have so many ways 
of putting petty indignities on foreigners that it is not safe to 
trust the preparations for such an occasion entirely to their 
sense of propriety. There is neither jetty nor wharf, and an 
appalling expanse of mud to be bridged or forded. Clamber- 







v - -I '^iisaj 



THE ''ARROW WAR . 151 

ing over a number of junks drawn together to serve for a tem- 
porary landing, we were beset, by a swarm of soldiers, in black 
jackets with red borders, and caps ornamented with red crests 
of horsehair. They were finer looking fellows than any I had 
seen in the southern provinces — as tall and heavy as the aver- 
age of our (American) rank and file. They endeavored to stop 
our progress ; but we pressed on until we were met by a pha- 
lanx of blue-and-white-buttoned mandarins. 

" Chairs were placed on the soft mud, tea was brought, and 
we were invited to be seated until Colonel Chin should make 
his appearance. To take seats would be to fix the meeting of 
our committee of arrangements in that unseemly spot. We 
accordingly sipped our tea standing and resumed our march. 
Perceiving that we were not to be deterred from our purpose, 
the mandarins ceased to oppose us ; the long lines of infantry 
drawn up on the bank of the fosse parted, and we were ushered 
into a spacious tent hung with blue. Soon the soldiers about 
the door began to form, and Colonel Chin entered between the 
files. He shook hands with us cordially in Tartar style ; offered 
tea and sweetmeats ; assured us that nothing should be wanting 
to a proper reception of the minister, received a despatch for 
the viceroy, and then graciously escorted us to our boat." 

The place of meeting was a marquee in front of the cen- 
tral fort. It looked out on a dreary mud-flat ; but the nearer 
scene was gay with banners and alive with mandarins, civil 
and military, clad in rich costumes, their caps adorned with 
the button indicative of rank, and many of them wearing a 
peacock's feather as a reward for special service. Whether 
civil or military, Chinese officials are divided into nine grades. 
The two highest have their caps surmounted by globes of bright 
or pale red ; the next two by globes of bright or dull blue ; the 
third pair by crystal and white ; and the last three by gold or 
gilt diversely marked. The first three are styled ia jin (" great 
man "), the second trio ta laoye (" great father "), while the last 



152 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

are simply laoye (" old father," or " elder," equivalent to " sig- 
nor "). 

Mr. Reed arrived at four o'clock, saluted by three guns and a 
flourish of music. He was met by the assistant commissioners 
outside the tent door, the viceroy waiting inside and seating 
him on his left hand. The members of his suite were ranged 
on the same side, while Tan's colleagues and assistants were 
disposed on the right. Few things strike a foreigner as more 
istrange than this left-handed courtesy, especially as the people 
are not left-handed. Their usages are in such marked con- 
trast to our own as to be highly becoming for our antipodes. 
In reading a book, they begin, as in Hebrew, at the end. In 
mourning they wear white ; they keep their hats on where we 
take ours off. Honors flow upstream, so that deceased an- 
cestors derive titles of distinction from their worthy offspring. 
They place the family name before that of the individual, and 
say Smith John instead of John Smith. The magnetic needle, 
they say, points to the south, while we say it points to the 
north ; though in this, as in many other disputes, both may be 
right. So numerous, indeed, are these differences as to lead us 
to suspect that the same cosmical law that placed their feet 
opposite to ours must have turned their heads the other way. 

" In comparing credentials, the question of the viceroy's 
* powers ' naturally came up. * True, you have a commission 
to negotiate,' said Mr. Reed, ' but you are not a plenipotenti- 
ary.' ' In this empire,' replied Tan, ' there is only one pleni- 
potentiary ; that is the emperor.' * But can you sign a treaty 
without reference to Peking? ' asked Mr. Reed. Tan, with 
some hesitation, answered in the affirmative— the fact being 
that he kept couriers going between camp and capital, and 
never thought of assenting to anything without being sure of 
his master's approval. This involved little or no delay ; and, 
as it made him the mouthpiece of the throne, the negotiations 
were really conducted with the emperor and his cabinet, 



THE ''ARROW WAR 153 

which, in this day of telegraphs, has come to be the universal 

practice.* 

" At the opening of the interview, the viceroy spoke of our 
President as Kuo Wang [" vassal prince "]. I drew Mr. Reed's 
attention to this, and he demanded that he should either pro- 
nounce the word " President " or give our chief the same title 
as his own. Tan stammered out Po-le-si-iien-teh a time or two, 
and then accepted the alternative, pronouncing Ni-tneii-ti ta 
Hwangti ["your great emperor"] in a derisive tone." 

The viceroy had a haughty air, but he was a man of ability, 
and our intercourse with him was not other than agreeable. 
His name was what the Chinese call lucky, signifying, by analy- 
sis, ''early words with the West.'' The acquaintance which I 
formed with him and with Chunglun, one of his two colleagues, 
was afterward useful to me at the capital, where both became 
members of the Council for Foreign Affairs. I met also at 
this time a handsome young Tartar of my own age, with whom 
I had much to do in later years. This was Chunghau, after- 
ward superintendent of trade at Tientsin, governor of Man- 
churia, member of the Board of Foreign Affairs, minister to 
France, and ambassador to Russia. He was then a tao-tai in 
the suite of the viceroy. 

" Little time was given to compliments, and less to the fruits 
and confectionery with which the tables were loaded. No rice- 
wine was brought in, and I note this as the first official meet- 
ing of considerable length that I ever saw without it. In the 
course of the interview, Mr. Reed mentioned that he was bearer 
of an autograph letter from the President to the emperor, but 
that he would not deliver it until he should be assured, by im- 
perial rescript, that it would be received and properly answered. 

* In 1895, Li Hung Chang, though styled a plenipotentiary, did not 
dare to agree to a cession of territory until he had referred to Peking. 
In fact, all the points of this treaty were submitted to the emperor before 
signature. 



154 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

Tan having engaged to procure the rescript, Mr. Reed exhib- 
ited a letter of President Pierce, which, having been sent from 
Fuchau instead of Canton, had been returned with the seal 
broken ; adding that if anything of that kind should be repeated 
it would lead the United States to assume an attitude of hos- 
tility toward China— a warning which subsequent events 
proved to have had a good effect. He also referred to his 
despatch to the Council of State, sent from Canton, and re- 
quested a copy in proof of its having reached its destination. 

" A second meeting took place on the loth, the viceroy hav- 
ing procured a copy of the despatch and informed Mr. Reed 
that he had received a rescript ordering him to forward the 
President's letter. He had in the meantime been furnished with 
a summary of Mr. Reed's proposals as to treaty revision. The 
interview was intended for the discussion of this program. 
Mr. Reed introduced the business of the day by inquiring for 
the paper containing the ' summary of points,' which he had 
sent to the commissioners on the previous Saturday. Tan pro- 
duced a copy. ' But where,' asked Mr. Reed, ' is the original 
document ? ' ' This is a true copy,' replied Tan, ' and will 
answer just as well.' ' But I should like to see the original 
paper,' pressed Mr. Reed. 

"Tan. The original is preserved for the inspection of his 
Majesty. I was afraid of soiling it, and so took a copy for my 
own use. It is a correct one, you may rest assured. I would 
not dare to falsify it. 

"Mr. Reed. Is the paper I sent you at hand ? 

" Tan. It is. 

"Mr. Reed. Will you oblige me by sending for it ? 

" Tan. It is not convenient for me to do so at present. 

"Mr. Reed. Now tell me the truth; have you not sent it 
to Peking ? 

" Tan. I have. 

"Mr. Reed. But did you not assure me it was at hand? 



THE ''ARROW WAR 155 

" Tati. It may as truly be said to be at hand at Peking as if 
it were here, for I can obtain it if desired. 

" At this impudent subterfuge Mr. Reed lost patience, and 
cautioned the high commissioner against resorting to any kind 
of prevarication in the future, as it would inevitably undermine 
that mutual confidence so indispensable to successful negotia- 
tion. Tan renewed his protestations of undeviating veracity, 
and had he been required to swear by the Styx, it is probable 
he would not have declined the oath." 

The importance attaching to this apparently trifling prelimi- 
nary may not, perhaps, be obvious. Mr. Reed had the saga- 
city to suspect that Commissioner Tan had already violated 
his engagement to agree upon the whole treaty before asking 
the imperial pleasure respecting any part of it, by submitting 
in advance the program of points, which must embarrass our 
negotiations and might defeat them altogether. Tan, too, had 
acuteness enough to discover Mr. Reed's object from his first 
inquiry ; hence his anxiety to evade a direct answer. He was 
not in the least disconcerted by the attack on his veracity ; 
for truth is not a point of honor with the Chinese, and adroit 
lying is with them admitted to be one of the prime qualifica- 
tions of a mandarin. The opinion the emperor has of his own 
officers is not a whit more favorable. Nor is this surprising, 
for he more than any one else is the victim of their deceit. 
Half a century ago, when the heads of departments and chief 
mandarins of the realm were rendering to their master an ac- 
count of their stewardship at a great periodical reckoning, Tao- 
kwang, after passing them all in revision, deliberately told 
them that "not one of them knew what truth was." 

Notwithstanding this unpleasant introduction, the conference 
was amicable, and the discussions free and easy. All the pro- 
posed amendments were passed in review ; the champions of 
conservatism and of progress exerted all their powers, and the 
contest was maintained until near night. Particular advantages 



156 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

were gained and lost, but no important or permanent result was 
achieved. Near the close of the meeting, Mr. Reed expressed 
a desire to have a copy of the imperial rescript relating to the 
President's letter. The commissioners had referred to it in their 
last communication without quoting its language, and this led 
him to suspect that it might contain something unsatisfactory. 
Tan promised to send it in the morning, and Mr. Reed agreed 
to resume negotiations the next day at noon, provided its con- 
tents should meet his expectations. He was about to rise to 
take leave when Tan preferred a modest request. Though he 
had shown himself reluctant to concede even the most moder- 
ate demands or to satisfy the most just claims, such as those 
for indemnity for American property destroyed by the Canton- 
ese, he nevertheless had the assurance to beg Mr. Reed to 
" enlighten the English on the principles of justice," and also 
to " employ his influence with the Russians toward the set- 
tlement of the boundary question pending between them and 
China." 

The opinion I had formed of Commissioner Tan from the 
first interview was confirmed by this. It was admitted on all 
hands that he must have attained his high position by his tal- 
ents, and that the emperor could not have intrusted the de- 
fense of the old regime to an abler champion. His voice had 
a nasal twang, disagreeable at first ; but the speaker of Manda- 
rin soon forgot this blemish in admiration of his diction, which 
was fluent, elegant, and pure, without any trace of provincial- 
ism. Mr. Reed's was concise and perspicuous, and well adapted 
for accurate translation. He exhibited so much skill, too, in 
availing himself of incidental developments, parrying the 
thrusts of his adversary, and guarding American interests at 
every point, as to prove that, whatever his past experience 
might have been, he was unquestionably a master in the dia- 
lectics of diplomacy. A Chinese junk is contemptible in 
comparison with one of our steamers, but an able mandarin is 



THE ''ARROW WAR 157 

a match for our best diplomats. It is a curious coincidence 
that in this prehminary joust a Philadelphia lawyer was met by 
one from Shaohing, a city with a special reputation for acute 
lawyers. 

"Early on the nth instant came a despatch from Tan, 
inclosing a copy of the rescript. Mr. Reed's suspicions were 
confirmed : its language, though not insulting, was far from 
satisfactory. His Majesty condescended to receive the Presi- 
dent's letter by way of Tientsin instead of Canton, but dropped 
no hint of any intention to answer it at all, much less to 
answer it in equal terms. Nothing short of an expHcit prom- 
ise from the emperor himself, to answer the letter in terms of 
equahty, would satisfy Mr. Reed ; and he resolved to suspend 
the interviews until an edict to this effect should be obtained." 

Going on shore to announce this decision, I was witness 
to a striking ceremony. As I approached the batteries, I ob- 
served a large body of troops drawn up in front of the mar- 
quee. Three guns were fired ; a flourish of music succeeded ; 
the troops dropped on their knees and bowed their heads to 
the earth. The three commissioners appeared in green palan- 
quins, each borne on the shoulders of eight men ; and the sol- 
diers remained kneehng until the dignitaries entered the tent. 

The next day Dr. Williams and I went again to carry a 
despatch, and by Mr. Reed's advice we availed ourselves of 
the opportunity for informal communication to further his ob- 
jects. We were received by the fantai, or provincial treasurer, 
and the general in command of the garrison, both wearing red 
buttons, while numbers of blues and whites, who had stood in 
the presence of the viceroy, now took seats and joined in con- 
versation. On this and subsequent occasions I interpreted for 
Dr. WiUiams, who, though an accomplished Chinese scholar, 
was not at that time famihar with the dialect of the North. 

" Desirous of impressing the mandarins with the importance 
of admitting trade at other than the five ports, he alluded to 



158 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

the fact that a considerable commerce had sprung up at many 
points on the coast. ' That illegal traffic,' said the fantai, * does 
more harm than good. Opium is one of its staple commodi- 
ties. Sir John Bowring asserted, when I met him here four 
years ago, that opium is as harmless as tea. But we know it 
is not harmless. That pernicious drug is wasting the property 
and destroying the lives of our peoi:»le. Additional ports will 
of course be opened, but which I am unable to say,' 

"Dr. IV. Your sovereign receives embassies from neighbor- 
ing states, such as Siam, Corea, etc. ; w^hy not open the gates 
of his capital to the envoys of the great nations of the West? 

*' Faniai. It is solely from fear of giving offense that he hesi- 
tates to do so. A certain rite is required of them, with which 
yoii would be unwilling to comply. They are vassals, and per- 
form the koto ; you are brethren, and would require to be 
treated on a footing of equality. 

''Dr. JF. Brethren did you say? Is it treating us like 
brethren to keep us standing outside of the door? 

'' Fa)itai. When brethren have once divided their interests 
and set up separate establishments, good feeling is best main- 
tained by remaining apart. There is danger, too, that some 
foreigners, if admitted to the capital, might abuse the privilege 
for the accomplishment of sinister ends. 

''Dr. W. The residence of a British minister at the capi- 
tal would have prevented any such misunderstanding as the 
present. 

"Fantai. It is useless to insist on that point. We may as 
well drop the subject. It has been tabooed by the high com- 
missioners. 

"Dr. W. Our minister has shown himself satisfied with the 
credentials of the viceroy ; but as the Allies insist on the ap- 
pointment of a plenipotentiary in a strict sense, would it not be 
wise to yield the point rather than provoke further hostihties? 

"Fantai. The idea of a plenipotentiary is incompatible with 



THE ''ARROW WAR 159 

the genius of an absolute monarchy. In all your reading of 
Chinese history have you ever met with such a title? 

"The fact being referred to that Keying got it coined for 
the occasion when he signed treaties after the opium war, 
these mandarins roundly asserted that it was forged by him- 
self, not granted by the emperor — as if his use of it could be 
concealed from the eye of majesty. Before taking leave, Dr. 
Williams explained why the President's letter was not dehvered 
as proposed ; and this drew from the fantai an assurance that 
the commissioners would urge the Council of State to induce 
the emperor to answer it in equal terms. 

" ' Nothing,' said Dr. Williams, * will be accepted as a suffi- 
cient guarantee but an edict from the emperor himself. Fail- 
ing that, our negotiations will not be resumed, and the friendly 
relations between our countries will be materially impaired.' " 

On the 17th Mr. Reed received a communication from the 
viceroy inclosing another rescript relating to the President's 
letter. It was as follows : 

" We shall be pleased to receive the President's letter of state 
and, as America is not a tributary nation, we shall reply to it 
without making use of any haughty or arrogant expression, 
reciprocating his civility in the same terms." 

This was the document that Mr. Reed had been laboring 
for a fortnight to extract from the Chinese, and it was worth 
all the pains it cost. Besides securing our country from the 
old indignities of contemptuous silence or studied insolence, it 
contains an admission such as the " Son of Heaven " had till 
that day never made to any other power, viz., that "America 
is not a tributary." In the earlier annals the other treaty 
powers all appear as tributaries! 

The condition sine qua no?i being complied with, Mr. Reed 
decided to dehver the letter without further delay, assigning 
to Captain Dupont the honor of presenting it. Being directed 
to arrange an interview for this purpose, I proceeded to the 



l6o A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

batteries, where I was met by the fantai. That worthy neglect- 
ing to seat me on his left, and asking rather unceremoniously 
what I had come for, I first took up the point of etiquette, 
reminding him that irrespective of rank I was entitled to the 
honors of a guest ; and when he had given me the proper place, 
I coolly informed him that the affair was such that I could 
not communicate it to any one lower than the viceroy. He 
retired, and, the viceroy coming in, the interview was quickly 
arranged, both officials being somewhat struck by the cheeki- 
ness of a young interpreter. 

If the President's letter were handed at all to the viceroy 
(it is now the custom to hand such autographs directly to the 
emperor) that should have been done by Mr. Reed. It was 
a mistake to yield his place in a grave ceremony merely to pay 
a compliment to Captain Dupont. In the course of conver- 
sation Captain Dupont suggested to the viceroy that China 
ought to send consuls to look after her people in the United 
States. 

Viceroy. It is not our custom to send officials beyond our 
own borders. 

Dupo7it. But your people on the farther shore of the Pacific 
are very numerous, numbering several tens of thousands. 

Viceroy. When the emperor rules over so many milHons, 
what does he care for the few waifs that have drifted away to 
a foreign land? 

Dupofit. Those people are, many of them, rich, having gath- 
ered gold in our mines. They might be worth looking after 
on that account. 

Viceroy. The emperor's wealth is beyond computation ; why 
should he care for those of his subjects who have left their 
home, or for the sands they have scraped together? 

Such was the sublime indifference at that time manifested 
by China toward her emigrant offspring! Nor was it merely 
indifference. Her laws prohibited their going abroad. They 



THE "ARROW WAR^ i6i 

were not enforced, and our treaty of 1868 sanctioned emigra- 
tion to the United States. But the old laws continued to be 
a source of vexation to weakhy Chinese returning from the 
East Indian Archipelago until they were repealed two years 
ago at the instance of the Chinese minister to England. 

''May 19th. The obstacle in the way of our negotiations 
being removed by the transaction of yesterday, it was agreed 
that they should be resumed and carried on by means of 
deputies. Tsien, the fantai, was appointed to appear on be- 
half of the commissioners, and Dr. Williams was deputed by 
Mr. Reed. They met at eleven o'clock this a.m., at the usual 
place of conference, where we spent four hours in continuous 
discussion. Nor was this a long time for reviewing a pro- 
gram of thirty-three articles. What those articles were it is 
not now necessary to say. Many of them were agreed to, 
subject to the approval of the ministers, when Mr. Consul 
Bradley was introduced, and, handing a letter to Dr. Williams, 
remarked that he had conveyed us intelligence that would 
bring our negotiations to an abrupt termination. 

"The letter was a brief note from Mr. Reed informing us 
that the Allies intended to storm the forts at ten o'clock the 
next day. 

" The arrival of a messenger whose character and position 
were such as to lead them to suppose that he could not have 
come on any but important business awakened the suspicions 
of the mandarins. At another time it might have been taken 
as referring to the business in hand, but the feverish state of 
apprehension in which they then were naturally led them to 
connect it with the movements of the Allies. They looked 
serious, but betrayed no agitation or curiosity, and we, on our 
part, felt bound to avoid disclosing by word, look, or gesture 
a secret intrusted to our honor. 

" Our first impulse was to break off the now useless discus- 
sion, but that would have been throwing off the veil of secrecy 



1 62 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

and acquainting them with the startling intelHgence as plainly 
as if we had sounded a trumpet in the camp. We accordingly 
continued to advance propositions and to refute objections, 
with as much gravity as if we were building something more 
durable than a house of straw destined to be scattered by the 
tempest of the morrow. It was late, however, and the declin- 
ing sun soon brought us an excuse for retiring. 

" Dr. Williams left with the fantai a copy of his beautiful 
lithographic map of China, which the old mandarin received 
with great delight, saying that it was the very thing he wanted 
to acquaint him with the geography of the empire! A lead- 
pencil, which Dr. Williams gave him at the same time, he pro- 
nounced ' a precious stone of rare value, unknown in China.' 
We also presented to him and his associates several tracts and 
Christian almanacs. The appearance of the latter, which con- 
tained the ten commandments, immediately provoked such 
expressions as they had already elicited more than once. * Take 
them,* said the mandarins, * to the English and French, to teach 
them not to covet or to kill.' They asked when we would 
meet them again. Poor fellows! it would have taken more 
than human ken to answer that question." 

The limit of time having expired, the gunboats began to 
bombard the forts at the hour named. The Chinese batteries 
replied with vigor, many of their shots whizzing over the deck 
of the "Antelope," which, at low tide, was hard aground in 
an ugly position between the combatants. Captain Dupont 
and many of his officers had come in from the frigate to wit- 
ness the fight. It amused me to see how they dodged when 
the first ball flew over us, though I dodged too. The know- 
ledge that when thunder is heard the bolt has passed by does 
not prevent this involuntary action of the muscles. As succes- 
sive balls came hurding through the air in our direction a cry 
was raised, " They are firing at us! " But the alarm was soon 
allayed by observing that the shots came at regular intervals 



THE ''ARROW WAR 163 

of five or ten minutes, evidently from one gun, and that, pass- 
ing over us, they all fell in the water some hundreds of yards 
beyond. That gun, as we afterward discovered, was fixed on 
an immovable frame! Considering their poor artillery, the 
Chinese fought well. Instead of striking in half an hour, as 
some had wagered, they held out for two hours and a quar- 
ter. During this time the wooden structures upon and within 
the batteries were fired by bursting shells, and the ground ren- 
dered untenable for the defenders. Wherever a gun con- 
tinued to reply it was dismounted by a well-aimed bomb. At 
length the Chinese camp lapsed into silence, and disappeared 
in a blinding sheet of smoke. No outward sign of submission 
was given ; the flags continued to wave until they were shot 
away, or consumed by the flames. 

Soon after the last shot from the shore, the victors took 
possession of the field without further resistance ; and an hour 
later I joined a company of our officers who went to inspect 
the battle-field. It was a sickening sight. Trails of blood 
were to be seen in all directions, and in some places it stood 
in pools, while the corpses of soldiers were roasting in their 
burning barracks. Some headless trunks told us that they had 
been cut down by their own people ; and some were found 
chained to their guns, pierced by foreign bullets. 

The most interesting objects that fell into the hands of the 
victors were two copper cannon and a set of silken scrolls. 
The guns were eighteen feet in length and of exquisite work- 
manship. Each bore the following legend in large charac- 
ters: Chi-i-ta-tsiang kidn ("This is the general who quells bar- 
barians "). 

The scrolls were white and blue, the colors of mourning, 
and had evidently decorated the funeral chamber of a great 
lady. They were picked up in apartments occupied by the 
viceroy by Captain Saumarez, of the gunboat " Cormorant," 
who requested me to translate them. The lady, however. 



1 64 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

could not have belonged to Tan's family, as his residence 
was at Paotingfu, and there is no greater breach of official 
etiquette than to carry the insignia of mourning to a post of 
pubHc duty. Some of the scrolls are worth transcribing just 
to show the estimation in which a woman is sometimes held in 
China. They are in parallel couplets, and each pair forms a 
strophe of an elegy. The whole poem describes her influence 
in the various relations of life. 

1. "Possessing rank by imperial gift, favor rested on her 
door-posts and grace on her household. Decorated by impe- 
rial decree, her virtues were diffused at home and her reputa- 
tion published abroad." 

2. ** Exciting the studies of her son, as with a stimulant of 
bear's gall, her excellent example is worthy of imitation. 
Clothed in shining vestments, she has gone up to the true life ; 
and her benevolent countenance — where shall we look for it? " 

3. " Having taught her son to follow her example and keep 
to the classics, she saw him pluck the cassia [the degree of 
A.M.]. Aiding her husband to display his virtues, her gende 
influence flowed over her kindred, and she commanded the 
hearts of her relations." 



CHAPTER XI 

TIENTSIN AND THE TREATIES 

Tartar plenipotentiaries — Pourparlers and signature — Episodes, tragic and 
comic — The whole a mirage 

' ' Two truths are told 
As happy prologues to the swelling act 
Of this imperial theme." 

ONE is the occupation of Canton, the second the capture 
ofTaku. What will be the next? What will the Chinese 
do now? Will they make a stand at some more defensible point 
beyond the reach of gunboats and heavy ordnance? Will 
they hold Tientsin and block the way to it by sinking junks in 
the narrow, tortuous river? For a day or two these questions 
were much discussed, but in less than a week they were solved 
ambula?tdo, some of the gunboats moving up to the city with- 
out opposition. The well-to-do people and the women had 
fled, showing that they had not heard of the humane treat- 
ment accorded to captured cities in the former war and to 
Canton in this. They expected, as in Chinese warfare, that 
pillage, murder, and violence would be the order of the day. 
The country people, however, care little which party gains the 
victory. One of the gunboats running aground on the way 
up, four hundred peasants were hired to get her afloat, and 
they tugged away as lustily as if they had not been helping 
the enemies of their sovereign. To speak of the Chinese gen- 
erally, patriotism is a word not found in their vocabulary. 

165 



i66 



A CYCLE OF CATHAY 



All they know of it, in its broader sense, is to boast of China 
and vilify foreigners. In lieu of it, they inculcate loyalty to 
the government, a sentiment chiefly confined to official classes. 
Their local attachments to clan, district, and province are ex- 
ceedingly strong; but between these are hereditary antipathies 




t L! ^ 



GUNBOATS IN THE GRAND CANAL; TAOIST TEMPLE AT THE 



JUNCTION. 



which an invader might easily turn to account. It is to the 
absence of the fiery passion of patriotism and to the support 
derived from the sober sentiment of loyalty that the reigning 
dynasty owes its long tenure ; for the average Chinaman has 
no politics. His mind is free from the most disquieting of all 
subjects, and it may be said of him, with a slight modification, 
as of the Frenchman under the Bourbons, 

" He's happy, reign whoever may, 
And eats and sleeps his misery away." 

For the neutrals the situation is a litde humihating. Their 
card-house-negotiations have been "knocked into pi." Will 



TIENTSIN AND THE TREATIES 167 

they wait till the belligerents have signed a peace before again 
trying their hand, or will the latter, as in most wars, object to 
their presence? Trusting largely to moral force, Lord Elgin 
desired their cooperation as well as that of his mihtant allies, 
and allowed them the freest facilities for communication, act- 
ing, in fact, as if a state of regular war did not exist. The 
neutrals, on their part (especially the Russian), desirous of 
keeping an eye on the proceedings of the English and French, 
lost no time in following them to their new scene of operations. 
The "Antelope" having to wait for higher water, both min- 
isters ascended the river on the Russian steamer " America." 

We were hospitably welcomed by the civic authorities, and 
the residence of a salt merchant overlooking the river was 
placed at our disposal. Mountains of salt 
covered with thatch were visible on the 
farther bank. It was the property of the 
government, which makes a monopoly of 
this commodity and derives a large part 
of its revenues from that source. 

A letter, on red paper and in a red 
cover, announced the appointment of two 
new ministers soon to arrive from Peking. 
They were Kweiliang, a Manchu, senior 
grand secretary; and Hwashana, a Mon- joint card of kweiliang 

° ■' ' AND HWASHANA. 

gol, field-marshal of the blue-bordered 

banner. Their cards accompanied the communication, and 

this time the title of plenipotentiary was not wanting. 

The Haikwang, or " Sea-light Temple," two miles from the 
city, was fixed on for the place of meeting. The new minis- 
ters appeared with a pompous retinue. The old ones did not 
show themselves ; but they were behind the scenes pulling the 
wires and coaching the " plenipotentiaries." The latter had 
requested that they might be present at this interview, but Mr. 
Reed objected that he could not meet them as long as their 






1 68 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

promise to procure an answer to the President's letter was un- 
fulfilled. 

After the usual compliments were exchanged, Mr. Reed 
handed me a paper which he desired me to render in Chinese, 
at the same time informing the commissioners that it contained 
a summary of his views, which he had placed in writing for 
the sake of precision, and requesting them to listen attentively 
and defer questions until they should hear it to the end. Dur- 
ing the reading their clerks were busily engaged in noting 
down the several points. 

The new ministers assented in general terms to all of them, 
and proceeded to comply with the demand expressed under 
the first head. Taking up a package, enveloped in a wrapper 
of yellow silk, Kweiliang slowly removed the cover, disclosing 
a sheet of paper of the same imperial color, which he raised 
reverentially above his head. He then presented the sacred 
document to Mr. Reed for his inspection, accompanied by a 
copy to be retained. This was the edict for which so much 
ink and so much blood had been shed at Taku. It contained 
the all-important word insisted on by the allied ministers, but 
its contents showed that, while the emperor yielded to neces- 
sity in inscribing a new title on his official register, he was still 
unwilling to introduce a new principle into his pohtical system. 
While nominating Kweiliang and Hwashana as "plenipoten- 
tiaries " he confined their discretion within very narrow limits, 
empowering them to concede "only what might be reasonable 
and mutually advantageous," and restraining them from yield- 
ing "anything detrimental to China." Who but his Majesty 
was to decide on the "reasonable, advantageous, and detri- 
mental " ? Were not these cautionary conditions a revocation 
of the very powers conferred, when their necessary effect must 
be to lead his ministers to ascertain beforehand the will of the 
emperor on every important point? 

Returning the ambiguous document, Mr. Reed in turn ex- 



TIENTSIN AND THE TREATIES 169 

hibited his own credentials and placed a translation of them 
in the hands of the commissioners. He then proposed that 
for the sake of expedition the articles of the new treaty should 
be referred for consideration to deputies under the direction 
of the ministers, and that the ministers themselves should 
only meet to sign and seal the document when it should be 
completed. This being assented to, Mr. Reed named Dr. 
Williams as his representative, and desired to know whom 
they would appoint to meet him. Kweiliang named Pien, a 
shrewd, thin-visaged, thoughtful man, who had made some 
figure in the negotiations at Taku. Mr. Reed objected on the 
ground that, wearing only a crystal button, he was not of suf- 
ficient rank to be pitted against the second man of our lega- 
tion. Kweiliang spoke of a high official in the suite of Hwa- 
shana, and Mr. Reed desiring to see him, he was called out. 
A short, vulgar-looking Tartar stepped from the crowd of 
officials with the air of a bashful school-boy. This was a 
Chinese introduction, and it left us ignorant alike of his name 
and position. 

"What is your honorable name?" I asked on behalf of Mr. 
Reed. "Chang," was the blunt reply. "And your office? " 
To save his modesty another answered for him : " He is an 
adjutant-general of the Hankuin and a hereditary noble — a 
isze^ or viscount." This was dignity enough to atone for the 
want of brains, and the ruby that flashed on the crown of his 
cap shed a luster over his stolid countenance. Mr. Reed was 
satisfied, and merely hinted that Pien might be associated with 
the viscount as a kind of prompter. 

The hour for the meeting of the deputies being agreed on, 
Mr. Reed complained of the emperor's delay in sending the 
promised answer to the President's letter, and insisted that it 
should be forthcoming at their next meeting, which he pro- 
posed should take place on the ensuing Thursday ; but Thurs- 
day was the last day of a short month, and they preferred 



fjO A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

Friday, not knowing (heathen that they are) that Friday is 
equally unlucky. 

Owing to the failure of the " Antelope " to arrive at the time 
expected, Mr. Reed was accompanied on this occasion by only 
a small guard of marines. But the absence of any force which 
might be construed into either menace or ostentation was alto- 
gether befitting the pacific attitude; which he had constantly 
maintained. 

In a few days he was notified that the imperial letter had 
arrived, and a day was set for its delivery. On descending 
from his sedan, he was conducted by Kweiliang to a table cur- 
tained with yellow satin, on which, supported by a frame, lay 
a wooden tube of the imperial color carved with imperial em- 
blems. This was the long-expected letter. The mandarins 
eyed it with awful reverence, and spoke of it with suppressed 
voice. They stood for a moment embarrassed and hesitating, 
and Mr. Reed thought they were waiting for him to kneel. It 
had indeed been privately proposed that he should do so, and 
he had refused. But how could he be sure that they were not 
bent on exacting some other humiliating rite? To forestall 
this he said, " I shall ol:)serve no other ceremony than that with 
which the President's letter was received by the viceroy." 
They assented, and Kweiliang, raising the tube in both hands, 
placed it in those of Mr. Reed, who, respectfully elevating it, 
gave it in charge to his son. The business of the day being 
thus summarily despatched, Mr. Reed and his suite were 
shown to seats, while the mandarins, all but a few of the high- 
est, remained standing. On this occasion Tan and one of 
his colleagues made their appearance. The haughty viceroy 
looked crestfallen. He retained his button, but his proud 
plume was gone ; and he hung his head as though conscious 
that he had forfeited that. And so he had, according to 
Chinese law; but in his memorial reporting the loss of the 
forts, while accusing himself and begging for punishment, he 



TIENTSIN AND THE TREATIES 171 

succeeded in throwing the blame on others who were more 
directly responsible. It was also rumored that he made the 
emperor beHeve that the forts would have been impregnable 
but for a high tide, which crippled the defense and favored 
the attack. At this time his fate was undecided, but eventu- 
ally he escaped with no heavier penalty than being stripped of 
his viceroyalty and sent into a brief exile. 

Kweiliang, the first commissioner, was an old man of sev- 
enty-four, of kindly aspect and gentle demeanor ; his colleague, 
Hwashana, some twenty years his junior, had a martial air and 
something of the brusqueness of a soldier. The two were spoken 
of as Kwei and Hwa, the former signifying " Cassia " and the 
latter ** Flower," a combination not unfitting for the Flowery 
Land, as they fondly call their country. A third "plenipoten- 
tiary," whose name had long been known to the world, was 
also unexpectedly present. This was Keying, who made peace 
with the British at Nanking in 1842, and signed the French 
and American treaties at Canton in 1844. To our great sur- 
prise and to the evident mortification of the other commission- 
ers, he had suddenly come to life a few days previous. Ar- 
riving as a nondescript adjunct to the new commission, he was 
now announced by Kweiliang as " plenipotentiary." A decree, 
he said, had just come down elevating Keying to a rank coor- 
dinate with himself. The original he was unable to exhibit, 
as it contained other matters of state, but he would send a 
copy of the portion relating to Keying. 

Mr. Reed advised the commissioners to avert threatened 
calamity by prompt concessions to the Allies, and as the day 
for signing his treaty was drawing near, he inquired whether 
it was their wish that he should leave Tientsin immediately 
afterward. " Oh no! " they replied ; " we entreat you to delay 
your departure in order to help us in our difficulties." 

Returning to the rooms of the legation, Mr. Reed removed 
the seal from the mysterious tube and drew forth a magnificent 



172 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

scroll four feet in length by two in breadth. Its margin was 
embellished with prancing dragons and birds of Paradise. 
Within this fancy border was the imperial letter in Manchu 
and Chinese. The tube or case was of bamboo, and the paper 
of the same material. If his Majesty had intended to send 
with his epistle an object fitted to illustrate the habits of his 
people he could not have selected anything more appropriate 
than a cylinder of this magnificent grass. The variety of uses 
to which it is applied by Chinese ingenuity is endless. They 
make masts of it for their smaller junks, and twist it into cables 
for their larger ones ; they weave it into matting for floors, and 
make it into rafters for roofs ; they sit at table on bamboo 
chairs, and eat the tender shoots of bamboo with bamboo 
chop-sticks; the musician blows a bamboo flute, and the 
watchman beats a bamboo rattle ; criminals are confined in a 
bamboo cage, and beaten with bamboo rods ; paper is made 
of bamboo fiber, and pencils of a joint of bamboo, in which is 
inserted a tuft of goat's hair ; despatches, written on such bam- 
boo paper, are carried, like the emperor's letter, in a bamboo 
tube slung across the shoulders of a mounted courier. 
The following is the letter, slighdy abbreviated : 

" We, the Autocrat of the Great Pure Empire, wish health to 
the President of the Great United States. 

" Having received the commands of Heaven to rule the cir- 
cuit of all lands, we view with the same benevolence all peoples 
within and without the wide seas. 

" Since our mutual intercourse was settled by treaty more than 
ten years ago nothing occurred to disturb the peace until the 
English and French last year, disregarding their treaties, vio- 
lated their obedience at Canton. The ministers of the United 
States observed their obligations and gave them no aid. We 
are much pleased by their conduct. 

" The United States minister has now handed up the letter 



TIENTSIN AND THE TREATIES 173 

under reply, in which your respectful expressions manifest the 
same friendly feeling. In it you desire that your minister may 
reside near our court; but there are many things in such an 
arrangement which cannot be effected without difficulty. 
Hitherto the foreign envoys have all come from countries that 
-pay tribute ; but the United States is numbered among our 
friends, and if, on the arrival of your envoy, anything unto- 
ward should happen [scil., any dispute about ceremonies], it 
might mar the harmony of our relations. 

" Moreover, our Middle Kingdom has no ministers residing 
in other countries, and arrangements of this kind ought to be 
reciprocal. 

" The minister of the United States is now at Tientsin, where 
he is negotiating with oiu* high officers, and their intercourse 
has been mutually agreeable. As soon as their deliberations 
are concluded he should return to Canton to attend to the 
commercial duties of his office as usual. This will tend to 
perpetuate the friendship of our countries, and we think that 
you, the President, will be pleased with such arrangement. 

[Emperor's seal.] 

" HiENFUNG, Eighth year, fourth moon, twenty-sixth day [June 7, 
1858]." 

A letter of Hienfung's grandfather to George III. in 1816 be- 
gins : " The Supreme Potentate, who has received from Heaven 
the government of the world, issues this imperial mandate to 
the King of England. Let him be thoroughly acquainted with 
it." Though both open with an assumption of universal sway 
— a set phrase, which will continue to be used as long as the 
dynasty exists— the earlier is a "mandate" to a vassal, the 
later an epistle to a "friend," in which all claim to suze- 
rainty is implicitly renounced. This is progress, and the man 
who elicited this expression deserves no little credit for his 
efforts. 



174 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

The reappearance of Keying, and his sudden exit from the 
diplomatic arena, form a tragic episode in the history of our 
proceedings. The young emperor began his reign by a violent 
recoil from the policy of his father. As he could not openly 
repudiate the treaties made by Taokwang, he vented his wrath 
on the ministers responsible for advising such disgraceful con- 
cessions. The chief of these was Keying. The decree by 
which he was struck down in 1850 will serve to show the spirit 
of the government : 

" As for Keying, his unpatriotic and pusillanimous conduct 
is to us a matter of unmixed astonishment. When he was at 
Canton he seemed only anxious to make our people serve the 
interests of foreigners. Recently, during a private audience, 
he spoke to us of the English, how greatly they were to be 
dreaded, urging a mild and conciliatory policy, not suspecting 
that we were aware of his knavish object, which was nothing 
else but to obtain rank and emolument for himself. The more 
he speaks the more does he expose himself, so that at the last 
we have come to entertain for him the same contempt we feel 
for a yelping cur." 

Whether or not he descended into private life breathing the 
prayer of Aristides, that his country might never need to recall 
him, it is a striking proof of the perplexity of the emperor that 
in this crisis he thought of the old servant whom he had treated 
so shamefully. Keying, on his part, was profuse in professions 
of ability to deal with the " unruly barbarians." He was ex- 
pected to aid the inexperience of Kwei and Hwa, but his own 
purpose was to supersede them. 

On the loth instant he called on our minister at his lodgings, 
and from the tenor of the interview it was evident that he had 
retrograded from the liberal ideas he was believed to entertain 
fifteen years before. He informed Mr. Reed that the emper- 
or's reply to the President's letter had arrived and would be 
delivered the next day. It would, he said, be a joyful day 



TIENTSIN AND THE TREATIES 175 

for the United States when an epistle from the great emper- 
or should be placed in the hands of the American minister," 
and proposed that Mr. Reed should rehearse the ceremony of 
the occasion. The latter declining to do this, " Of course you 
will receive it on your knees," he added. " Not I," said Mr. 
Reed ; " I kneel to no other than the Lord of heaven." "But 
the emperor is the same as God," said Keying. 

Without noticing this prime article of the mandarin's creed, 
which makes the emperor grander than the Grand Lama, Mr. 
Reed cut the matter short by declaring that he would show no 
form of respect which Commissioner Tan had not shown in re- 
ceiving the letter of the President. Another proposal of the 
old mandarin was still more absurd and puerile. He requested 
that Mr. Reed should " move his steamer a little farther down 
the river," saying that " it would quiet the heart of the em- 
peror " and " augment his own influence " — arguments that 
were not as heavy as the anchor of the " Antelope." 

Mr. Reed returned his visit the next day, and on the follow- 
ing morning a messenger from Kweiliang brought the news 
that Keying had set out for the capital. 

Lord Elgin had refused to meet him, throwing in his face 
a private memorial of his found at Canton, which betrayed a 
duplicity unavoidable in those who are intermediaries between 
this conservative empire and the aggressive AVest. Finding 
that his name had lost its magic, he imputed his defeat to his 
colleagues, and set off to explain matters in person. 

They, dreading his machinations, resolved to be beforehand. 
Despatching a fleet messenger, they denounced him for desert- 
ing his post without orders. He entered the gates a prisoner, 
and received from the emperor the present of a silken scarf, 
which meant permission to hang himself. To appreciate this 
mark of imperial favor— a favor not unlike that which Nero 
bestowed on Seneca — one must take into account the Chinese 
horror of decapitation. It not only secured that his body 



17^ A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

should return entire to Mother Earth, but exempted his family 
from any stain of disgrace. 

After the opening interview Dr. Williams and I repaired 
daily to the temple to meet the deputies of the Chinese minis- 
ters, the results of each day's conference being reported to our 
respective chiefs. Yushan, one of the junior deputies, was a 
fine specimen of the Manchu race. Handsome and clever, I 
was much struck by the winning frankness of his manner ; nor 
was he less impressed by something in me— just what, it would 
be difficult to say ; the novelty, perhaps, of meeting a foreigner 
who was neither a savage nor a fool. His father had been 
governor of Hi ; his ideas of foreigners were therefore based 
on what he had seen of Turkomans and Kalmucks. On part- 
ing I gave him my book on the Evidences of Christianity, 
which disposed him to be friendly to our missionaries in two 
of the cities of Shantung where he was afterward prefect. 
When he returned to the capital he sought me out, and our 
relations grew more intimate with years until he closed his 
career by being governor of the province of Shansi. Just be- 
fore leaving for his high post he gave me a pair of scrolls in- 
scribed with a couplet in praise of me, or rather of our friend- 
ship: 

" His learning is vast, and all his teachings are in harmony with truth. 
He has friends far and near, but I am the most intimate." 

Yushan was accustomed to call me brother, and he over- 
stepped the etiquette of his country to introduce to me his 
nieces, who were young ladies, along with his own children. 
He frequently said, Pi-ts yu yuefi ("We must have been kins- 
men in a former state "). 

"June nth. Some people came to complain that the in- 
habitants had been frightened away from a whole street by a 
company of British soldiers, who proceeded to plunder the 
empty dwellings. They were recommended to petition Ad- 



TIENTSIN AND THE TREATIES 



^ir 



miral Seymour, from whose justice and humanity they would 
be sure of obtaining redress. 

" This is the first case of disorder that I have heard charged 
on the British troops at Tientsin, and on subsequent investiga- 
tion (at which I assisted by request of Captain Hall, R.N.) 
the damage proved to be insignificant. The depredations of a 
Chinese garrison, if such 
a thing existed at Tient- 
sin, would far exceed the 
license of these barba- 
rian victors. 

** This reminds me of 
a beggarly present which 
Mr. Reed received from 
the gentry of Tientsin a 
few days ago. It con- 
sisted of two sheep, two 
jars of rice-wine, a few 
cakes and fruits, with 
eight broad-brimmed 
straw hats, one for him- 
self and one for each of 

his suite. The reason assigned for this complimentary offer- 
ing was that the * American soldiers [a guard of a dozen ma- 
rines] had been so well commanded that the people had been 
able to remain in quiet.' " 

"June 1 2th. Paid a visit to the kung-kwafi (hotel) of the 
Chinese plenipotentiaries, which was equally unexpected by 
them and unintended by us. The circumstances were these : 

" Mr. Reed's colored valet and a Chinese servant of Captain 
Dupont were walking near the city wall, when they were as- 
saulted by a mob. The latter was dragged away, but the 
former succeeded in escaping with the loss of some of his 
clothing. Fearing the poor boy might be torn to pieces by 




WINE FOR THE MINISTER. 



178 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

the populace, Captain Diipont ordered his handful of marines 
to seize their arms, and salHed forth at their head, determined, 
if possible, to effect a rescue. I accompanied the gallant 
captain, as without some one through whom to communicate 
the Chinese would have been at a loss to understand the ob- 
ject of this demonstration. A quick march of a mile brought 
us to the neighborhood where the assault was said to have 
taken place, but we could hear no tidings of the missing boy. 
Passing in front of a large building which was evidently an 
official residence, it occurred to us to inquire there ; for who 
so likely as the mandarins to be acquainted with the circum- 
stances of a street riot ? 

" Approaching the door, a whole cohort of mandarins of the 
lower grades made their appearance. They had heard of the 
disturbance, and, promising that the boy should be im.medi- 
ately restored, begged us to go back. With this request 
Captain Dupont declined to comply, and, as he was about to 
advance, they became apprehensive of further trouble and 
invited us to come in. Captain Dupont consented, thinking 
that would stimulate them to prosecute the search. As the 
huge doors closed on us, marines and all, the street was 
jammed as far as the eye could reach with a tumultuous 
crowd. It was easy to perceive that their excitement was occa- 
sioned by something more than the appearance in the street of 
a few armed foreigners, but what that something was we were 
at a loss to divine. 

" Ushered into a spacious and well-furnished hall, the 
marines mounting guard in the vestibule, we were served with 
tea, fruits, and confectionery. In a few minutes Major Chang 
showed his familiar physiognomy and endeavored to quiet our 
apprehensions respecting the safety of the boy. Captain Du- 
pont insisted that the boy should be brought there, and we 
were preparing to make ourselves comfortable until the de- 
mand should be complied with, when it occurred to me to in- 



TIENTSIN AND THE TREATIES 179 

quire to what officer we were indebted for our unexpected 
entertainment. 

" * Kwei Chung-tang,' was the reply. * This is the residence 
of Kweiliang, the minister of state.' We were confounded, 
not that we entertained such an awful reverence for a minister 
of state, but at the awkwardness of our predicament. We had 
'caught a Tartar,' and Kweiliang was a larger one than we 
had any idea of capturing. We attempted to apologize for 
our rude intrusion ; but as well might Admiral Seymour have 
apologized for finding himself in the yamen of Commissioner 
Yeh after breaching the walls of Canton. It is true the doors 
were opened to us and we were invited in, but it would have 
been impossible to convince the Chinese that we did not in- 
tentionally direct our march to the gate of their chief minister, 
in terrorem; and the threat of Captain Dupont, that ' he would 
allow an hour for the restitution of his servant, in default of 
which he would repeat the visit,' was not calculated to remove 
that impression. The tumult at the door as we were entering 
was now explained, and the crowd, which was large enough 
to have torn us piecemeal, quietly parted to give us egress when 
they saw that we appeared, not, as they had perhaps antici- 
pated, with their chief minister in chains, but with friendly 
mandarins to lead the way. 

" When we reached the legation we found the boy already 
there. He had been sent back in a sedan, and his cotton 
trousers, which had been torn off by the mob, were replaced 
by a pair of silk. Our march to the hotel of the imperial 
commissioners was the prelude to a demonstration of a more 
serious character. 

" Captains Dew and Osborne, of the English squadron, were 
set upon the same day in the streets of Tientsin, and escaped 
with their heads but without their hats. Resolved either to 
put an end to such attacks or bring on open hostilities, they 
took a hundred marines and proceeded toward the city. The 



i8o A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

gates were shut against them, but there was no other show of 
resistance, and, scahng the walls, they seized some of the resi- 
dents, whom they carried on board and detained overnight. 
It was a bold foray, and shows how helplessly this great city 
lies in the grasp of the foreigner. 

** These occurrences indicate that the people are growing 
restive under military occupation. Not that they are incited 
by disorders on the part of the allied soldiery— the cause hes 
deeper : they are starving. From the arrival of the first ship 
at the mouth of the river the port has been in a state of virtual 
blockade. All business is at a standstill, and thousands of the 
inhabitants, destitute of employment or food, are waxing fierce 
as famished wolves. They are not brave but desperate, and 
are beginning to clamor, I am told, to be allowed to precipi- 
tate themselves like an avalanche on the httle troop of foreign 
invaders. ' We may as well fall by their bayonets as perish 
with hunger,' is the low, sad plaint which wants but a little 
more pressure to turn it into a terrific war-cry. 

" The principal business which detains Tan, the governor- 
general, at this center of disturbance is said to be the preser- 
vation of order among his unruly subjects. They are described 
as more turbulent and warlike than the people of the South, 
given to settling their disputes by an appeal to arms rather 
than to the law, and engaging with field-pieces in pitched 
battles, with which the mandarins dare not interfere. They 
would furnish the raw material for excellent soldiers. 

" June 1 4th. Engaged at the ' Sea-light Temple ' seven hours 
with the Chinese deputies discussing the ' articles.' " 

"June 15th. Occupied in the same way for five hours." 

"June 1 6th. Another heat of seven hours. These pro- 
tracted sessions, which leave me neither time nor strength for 
anything else, suggest the query whether treaty-making is not 
called * negotiation ' quia negat otium? 

" To-day we completed the preliminary discussion. On the 



TIENTSIN AND THE TREATIES i8i 

1 8th the ministers are to affix their seals. Of all the articles, 
thirty in number, that which relates to religious toleration was 
the most difficult to agree upon. When first proposed it ap- 
peared likely to pass unchallenged. But suspicion of what 
might be entering the Inner Land under the name of rehgion 
has led the commissioners to subject it to a severe scrutiny. 
They fear that it may be made the pretext for political inter- 
ference. They have sense, too, to perceive that an element so 
antagonistic to the institutions of a pagan country as Christian- 
ity necessarily is cannot be compatible with the continuance of 
the present state of things. They would be glad to exclude 
the transforming and regenerating principle, but, thank God, 
it is no longer within their power to do so. 

" The deputies acknowledged to-day that the emperor had 
intended to interdict the propagation of Christianity, but that 
he refrained from doing so out of regard for the four great 
nations interested in its extension. 

"The 1 8th of June was approaching, and Mr. Reed gave 
us notice that he intended to have his treaty signed on that 
day, imagining that posterity would somehow connect his 
name with that of Wellington. There was still a hitch con- 
nected with the wording of the toleration clause. That article, 
now the chief glory of the treaty, was suggested by Dr. Wil- 
liams. How much interest Mr. Reed took in it is apparent 
from his saying to us, ' Now, gentlemen, if you can get your 
article in— all right! But, with or without it, I intend to sign 
on the 1 8th of June.' " 

On the morning of the fateful day Dr. Williams informed 
me that he had lain awake all night thinking about the toler- 
ation clause, and that a new form had occurred to him which 
he thought would prove acceptable. He reduced it to writ- 
ing, and I suggested that we should order our chairs and 
go straight to the hotel of the Chinese ministers to settle 
the matter without further delay. This we did, though we 



1 82 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

had never gone there before except by accident, as above 
related. 

The deputies met us for consultation, and their chiefs ac- 
cepted Dr. Williams's text with an unimportant verbal change. 
It now reads: "Art. 29. The principles of the Christian re- 
ligion as professed by the Protestant and Roman Catholic 
churches are recognized as teaching men to do good and to 
do to others as they would have others do to them. Hereafter 
those who quietly teach and profess these doctrines shall not 
be harassed or persecuted on account of their faith. Any 
person, whether a citizen of the United States or a Chinese 
convert, who, according to these tenets, peaceably teaches and 
practises the principles of Christianity shall in no wise be in- 
terfered with or molested." 

It would be a mistake to suppose that the toleration of our 
holy religion in China depended entirely on this stipulation in 
the American treaty. It was France who, in 1844, led the 
way in procuring the revocation of persecuting interdicts and 
the issue of an edict of toleration. Is it to be imagined that 
she needed our example to prompt her to secure by treaty 
what she had gained by imperial placet? The fact is that 
each of the other treaties contains an article in favor of Chris- 
tianity, and the advantages secured by them must have inured 
to us even had ours remained a blank. Its omission, however, 
would not have been a blank, but a blot. 

The phraseology of the British treaty, signed the following 
week, was on this point conformed to that of the American. 
Says the Bishop of Hong Kong in a letter to the Archbishop 
of Canterbury : " It is right that the friends of Christian mis- 
sions on both sides of the Atlantic should know how much 
they are preeminently indebted for the Christian element in 
the uwi'ditig of the treaties to the hearty zeal, sympathy, and 
cooperation of his Excellency William B. Reed, ably seconded 
by his secretary of legation and interpreter. Dr. Williams and 



TIENTSIN AND THE TREATIES 183 

Rev. W. A. P. Martin, names well known in connection with 
the missionary work in China." 

That the Chinese commissioners so readily accepted the 
principle of religious toleration was a matter of surprise, as 
their experience with a fanatical horde of semi- Christian insur- 
gents was not adapted to allay apprehension. The explana- 
tion, however, is not far to seek. They feared that if they 
should reject our demands on that head the foreign powers 
might still turn to the rebels, who were in great force in the 
central provinces. Their acceptance of this article is not 
therefore to be compared with the spontaneous insertion in 
the Japanese constitution of a clause securing complete free- 
dom of conscience. It was not the result of growing light, but 
of fear. 

Another clause of the treaty, which is something more than 
an ornament, is that which provides for the good offices of the 
United States in cases of difficulty with other powers. Thus 
to be a permanent peacemaker is a position which any minister 
might be proud of securing for his country. This provision, 
however, emanates not from Mr. Reed, but from Kweiliang, 
who, on looking over the project, took up his pencil and 
added the lines relating to that subject, showing that he under- 
stood enough of geography to perceive that among the four 
powers the United States was the only one that had no temp- 
tation to encroach on Chinese territory. 

The treaty was signed on Waterloo Day, Mr, Reed making 
a point of putting it through before the belligerents did theirs, 
as if everything he gained by negotiation was not due to their 
arms, and as if he would not have had a better chance to 
gather up results by waiting until theirs were concluded. In 
a Chinese fable, a fox, walking a few steps in advance of a 
tiger, imagines that the consternation of the beasts is due to 
his presence. " To-day," exclaimed Mr. Reed, " I have per- 
formed the greatest act of my life." The vanity that could 



^184 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

find greatness in a treaty obtained under such circumstances 
might readily beheve that WiUiam B. Reed was the chief actor 
on the scene. 

The treaty contained nothing about the opium-trade, though 
there was an article denouncing and forbidding it in the first 
draft. Well do I remember the blank surprise of the Chinese 
deputies when I informed them that the anti-opium article 
was withdrawn. The reason for this backward step I was not 
at hberty to disclose, but I am now. Had Mr. Reed discov- 
ered the nugatory nature of such a stipulation he would have 
deserved credit for perspicacity. Without making that discov- 
ery he backed down under a menace from Lord Elgin to in- 
troduce into the British treaty an article in favor of opium. 

Strange to say, — perhaps not strange,— the man who weakly 
yielded to that menace six months later took the lead in giving 
to opium the status of a legal import. When the tariff came 
to be arranged at Shanghai he wrote a letter to Lord Elgin set- 
ting forth his fitness for doing his lordship's disagreeable work. 

Mr. Reed had no fixed principles ; he had gained his ap- 
pointment by becoming a pohtical turncoat. His proposal to 
prohibit opium was intended to win popularity, his introduction 
of it into his tariff was designed to obtain the credit of a dar- 
ing initiative. We have seen how much he cared for the 
toleration clause. He only tolerated it in hopes of curry- 
ing favor with religious communities at home. He said to us 
(Dr. Williams and myself) in so many words— words that we 
felt as an insult— that he expected us to make the religious 
people of our country fully sensible of what he had done for 
their cause. 

The British treaty of Tientsin is a marked advance on that 
of Nanking, but it contains an omission, as Paddy might say, 
which stamps Lord Elgin's diplomacy as a failure— the omis- 
sion to add Tientsin to the list of open ports. Had this been 
secured it would have prevented the recurrence of hostilities. 



TIENTSIN AND THE TREATIES 



■85 



Mr. Reed, who had a habit of swinging round to the views 
of Lord Elgin, said that he was " glad that it was not to be 
made an open port; for if opened it would be a nest of in- 
trigue, besides affording European powers a position from 
which they could overawe the capital" — just as if overawing 
were not the thing most needed. 

"June 19th. The new treaty being concluded, the duty 
next in order was to restore to the Chinese an original copy 
of the old one, found in the viceroy's yamen at Canton, along 
with copies of the English and French treaties. The lucky 
hour selected by the commissioners for receiving it was 4 p.m., 
at which time Dr. Williams and I conveyed it to their lodgings. 




KWEI AND HWA SENDING A DESPATCH TO THE EMPEROR. 
(the despatch in bamboo TUBE RESTING ON SUPPORTS.) 



They were about despatching a courier to the emperor, and 
had just completed the elaborate ceremonial which they go 
through on all such occasions. It consists in lighting tapers 
and burning incense before the document inscribed with the 
emperor's name, and performing before it, as if in the imperial 
presence, the koto, or nine prostrations. 

" The object of their memorial was to ascertain the pleasure 
of his Majesty touching some points in the English and French 



1 86 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

treaties. The demands of the Allies and the reluctance of the 
emperor to accede to them had thrown the commissioners into 
a sad state of perplexity, and old Kweiliang remarked despond- 
ingly that, however faithful they might be, it would be impos- 
sible to escape being censured by their master. He denounced 
Keying as a hollow-hearted deceiver, and commended himself 
and his colleague as men of unimpeachable integrity, at the 
same time protesting in the most solemn manner that they 
had not the remotest agency in bringing Keying to his unhappy 
end. [A year later Hwashana met the same fate, swallowing 
gold to escape a judicial process.]" 

"June 25th. This morning Mr. Reed had what he sup- 
posed to be a final interview with the imperial commissioners 
at the temple of the Wind-god, where he had met Keying. 
At parting he shook their hands, expecting to see them no 
more, but scarcely had he reached his lodgings when a mes- 
senger came with a request that he would come to their hotel 
as quickly as possible on urgent business. A similar request 
was sent to the Russian minister. 

" On arriving the neutral ministers were told that an imperial 
decree had been received, in which H. I. M. positively rejected 
several of the most important demands of the English. A 
paper was produced which professed to be an extract. In this 
the emperor was made to say that he would ' negative with ten 
thousand vetoes any proposition to place a resident minister at 
Peking ; that unrestricted intercourse with all parts of the em- 
pire for purposes of trade could by no means be allowed ; and 
that, the banks of the Great River being disturbed by rebels, 
its navigation was not to be treated of.' 

" ' You see,' said KweiHang, addressing himself to the two 
ministers, * how importunately the Enghsh urge their demands, 
and how decidedly our great emperor rejects them. Between 
the two our hves are in jeopardy. If we sign a treaty contain- 
ing these concessions we shall be condemned as traitors. If 



TIENTSIN AND THE TREATIES 187 

we refuse, the English will renew hostilities, and we shall be 
put to death for faihng to bring them to terms. But for my- 
self, if I must die I prefer to fall with hands unstained by the 
guilt of betraying my country. In this emergency it is to you 
that we look for help. Your honorable nations have always 
been our friends, and we have just confirmed our friendship 
by renewing our treaties. We entreat you therefore to use 
your combined influence to induce Lord Elgin to recede from 
these unreasonable demands. Our every hope depends on 
your exertions.' 

" While uttering this speech the voice of Kweiliang, en- 
feebled with age, became tremulous with emotion. The neu- 
trals assured him of their sympathy (what could they do less?), 
but were unable to quiet his apprehensions with anything bet- 
ter than the vaguest promises. Throughout the interview 
Hwashana maintained a stoical composure, and his bearing 
on this, as on other public occasions, was characterized by a 
severe dignity worthy of the ' grand marshal ' of the blue- 
bordered banner." 

"June 26th. From the tone of this interview I was dis- 
posed to augur unfavorably as to the prospects of the fete our 
English friends were expecting to celebrate, and feared that 
those officers who had come up from the outer anchorage to 
witness the signing of the treaty would be parties to a less 
pacific spectacle. But at 6 p.m. the marine companies were 
drawn up in front of Lord Elgin's lodgings, and he came forth 
amid the blare of a military band and the cheers of the allied 
squadrons. Banners of every color floated in gay festoons 
from the mastheads of the steamers, and the yards were manned 
to do honor to the occasion. 

" After an absence of two hours he returned with the sign and 
seal of the imperial commissioners to all his dcmatids. By 
what arguments they were persuaded to compliance it is not 
difficult to divine ; but whether the prohibitory edict was a 



1 88 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

myth, the extract exhibited to us a forgery, and their pathetic 
appeal to the intercession of the neutral ministers only a sub- 
terfuge of baffled diplomacy, or whether they have devoted 
themselves to a future but inevitable doom, to avert from their 
country a present calamity, are questions which .do not admit 
of so ready a solution." 

"June 27th (Sunday). The French treaty was signed this 
evening. Gallic taste and ingenuity succeeded in eclipsing the 
pageant of yesterday. The hour was so fixed that the splen- 
dors of a torch-light procession shed over the return of the 
baron an air of triumph. All the vessels of the combined 
squadron received him with prolonged cheering, and as he 
entered his domicile a blaze of pyrotechny hailed the finale of 
the war with China." 

"July 6th. The four treaties, combined in one despatch, 
were sent to Peking by a fleet courier, while the commissioners 
waited in breathless suspense for the imperial rescript. At 
length the vermilion pencil deigned a reply. * We have seen 
their memorial and know its contents,' was its oracular utter- 
ance. The commissioners felt relieved that it had not come 
charged with a thunderbolt, and thought the foreign plenipo- 
tentiaries ought to be equally satisfied ; but those unmeaning 
words afforded no assurance that the treaties would ever be 
ratified, and nothing short of such a guarantee could warrant 
the AUies in withdrawing their forces ; for what evidence have 
they that on the removal of pressure the emperor will not re- 
pudiate the acts of his ministers? They resolved to apply the 
screws and compel an explicit promise of ratification. Gun- 
boats were despatched to the outer anchorage with orders to 
bring up a thousand additional troops. The mere demonstra- 
tion proved sufficient, and peace is maintained at least for the 
present." 

The temple that was the scene of our toils deserves a part- 
ing notice. It is now known as the Treaty Temple, but its Chi- 



TIENTSIN AND THE TREATIES 189 

nese name, Haikwang, signifies " sea-light," or " sea of light." 
In crossing the expanse of heated sand in the midst of which 
it stands we often saw a mirage, which I suppose gave rise to 
its name. The Buddhists are idealistic in their philosophy, 
holding that all appearances are unreal. Who knows that 
they did not build their temple in that barren spot just because 
there they had before their eyes a symbol of the deceptive 
nothingness of all things? 

Before the middle of July the pomp of embassies and the 
glitter of arms had faded from the scene, as transient as a 
mirage, and, may we not add, as unsubstantial, seeing that 
nothing was secured and that two years of war were lurking 
within the veil of the future. 

Had Tientsin been opened to trade and gunboats been sta- 
tioned in the river, there could have been no pretext for a fresh 
rupture. Situated at the junction of the Grand Canal with the 
Peiho, it is the entrepot not only for the capital but for the 
entire belt of northern provinces. Its population, then about 
three hundred thousand, has more than doubled, and in the 
volume of its trade it now ranks high on the list of open ports. 
The foreign settlement, two miles below the city, is a city in 
itself, and might well serve the Chinese for a model if they 
were not too proud or too prejudiced to accept one. When 
a block of native houses happens to burn down the new build- 
ings, instead of rising in a new and improved style, reproduce 
the old ones as exactly as this year's crop of briers does that 
of last year which was devoured by a prairie-fire. 



CHAPTER XII 



THE WAR RENEWED 



Repulse of Allies at Taku— Mr. Ward's visit to Peking— Reception by 
the viceroy— Journey overland— Ascent of Peiho— Scurvy treatment 
— Refusal of koto— Expulsion from the capital— Exchange of treaty 
— A strange presentiment 

EARLY in 1859 our new minister, Hon. John E. Ward, 
touched at Ningpo with his secretary, Dr. Williams, on 
his way to the North, and invited me to accompany him as 
I had Mr. Reed the previous year. Mr. Aitcliison, a clever 
young missionary of the American Board, joined the expedi- 
tion as assistant interpreter. 

The British and French ministers had not yet arrived at 
Shanghai, but the Chinese ministers who had signed the trea- 
ties were waiting there to intercept them and obtain, if possible, 
the surrender of certain disagreeable rights. One of these 
was the navigation of the Yang-tse-Kiang, another the resi- 
dence of foreign ministers in Peking. To renounce them would 
have been to throw away the best fruits of the war. 

Bruce and Bourboulon, the representatives of England and 
France, bent on proceeding to the capital and suspecting bad 
faith, refused to see the Chinese ministers in any other place. 
Mr. W^ard, playing a very different part, rightly enough con- 
sented to meet them. Two interviews took place, one at the 
house of Heard & Co., where Mr. W^ard lodged, the other at 
a yamen in the Chinese city. At both a conspicuous figure 

190 



THE WAR RENEWED 191 

was Ho Kweching, viceroy of the two Kiang. A native of 
Yunnan, he had, as he told me, gained the degree of Chiijen, 
or Master of Arts, at the age of sixteen. Not over forty, he 
was a fine specimen of the physique and intelHgence of his 
race. A year later the poor fellow was beheaded for not de- 
fending Suchau, the provincial capital, against the Taiping 
rebels. At these interviews, which were chiefly occupied with 
eating and drinking, nothing took place worthy of record ex- 
cept that the Chinese sohcited the good offices of Mr. Ward 
to induce the English and French to reopen negotiations at 
Shanghai. The effort, if made, was ineffectual. About the 
middle of May a combined squadron of the allied powers was 
again lying off the Taku bar. This time, in addition to the 
natural barrier, the entrance to the river was closed by chevaux- 
de-frise. The batteries had been rebuilt, probably with the aid 
of Russian engineers, and, as the allied force learned to its 
cost, armed with guns of a formidable type. 

Landing in front of the batteries, we were met by several 
officers without uniform (official intercourse being forbidden), 
who informed us that all access by water was barred, but that 
if we chose to proceed to Peking by land the way was open. 
The English and French ministers were resolved to ascend the 
river, though their predecessors had neglected to stipulate for 
that privilege, and, indignant at finding the entrance closed, they 
committed to their naval commanders the task of opening it. 

At midnight on June 24th the explosion of a shell burst 
the chain. A single shot from the batteries indicated that the 
act of aggression was observed on shore, then all relapsed into 
silence. The next day while parties were removing the iron 
stakes no notice was taken of the proceeding, and so few signs 
of life were discernible that many thought the batteries de- 
serted. About 3 P.M. the gunboats steamed in and opened 
fire. Instantly a blaze of chain-lightning ran along the earth- 
works on both sides of the river, the cannonade continuing with 



192 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

little intermission until nightfall. In the meantime Admiral 
Hope was wounded, and our gallant Commodore Tatnall put 
off through the thick of the fight to express his sympathy. On 
his way back his cockswain was killed and his boat shattered 
by a shot from the Chinese side. Beyond this plucky display 
he gave a substantial proof of sympathy by towing up a flotilla 
of launches containing a storming-party of five hundred men, 
exclaiming, as he threw diplomacy overboard, that "blood is 
thicker than water." 

That speech has echoed round the world. No heart responds 
to it more truly than mine. Would that the ties of blood might 
not only make war impossible between the kindred nations, but 
unite the two flags to impose peace on the rest of mankind! 
Yet, noble as was the impulse, the move was hardly politic for 
those who were intending to go to Peking. 

When the first shots convulsed the air a frightened dove 
lighted on the rigging of our ship, where it was observed and 
admired as a symbol of neutrality. Needless to say, it flew 
away when our flag was compromised. The succor was too 
late to be effective. It was near sunset when the party landed, 
and night came before they had passed the belt of mud sepa- 
rating them from the forts. They then found themselves con- 
fronted by an obstacle for which no calculation had been 
made— a broad, deep moat full of water. Without pontoons 
or boats it was impossible to cross, and as the devoted band 
stood on the brink they were mown down by volleys of musketry 
from the ramparts, the aim of the Chinese being guided by 
fire-balls thrown into the air. In a few minutes half the force 
were killed or wounded, and the remainder, with or without 
orders, floundered back to their boats. All was done that 
courage could do, but the bungHng of the admiral made dis- 
aster inevitable. What is to be said for a man who so miscal- 
culates the tides and misunderstands the ground except that 
"he was brave"? 



I 



THE WAR RENEWED 193 

The loss in killed and wounded footed up four hundred and 
sixty ; the gunboats made no impression, and the light of day- 
revealed the fact that six of the thirteen were hors de co7jibat. 
The discomfiture was complete, and the Allies retired to the 
south to prepare for another campaign. Of the Englishman 
in such circumstances it may always be predicted, viox reficit 
rates qiiassas. 

The war was rekindled, and the Chinese were accused of 
bringing it about by treachery. But were they wrong in bar- 
ring the way to a city that was not opened by treaty? Had 
the allied ministers a right to expect to reach Tientsin in their 
steamers when they had neglected to secure it by stipulation? 
Not only were they aggressors in firing the first shot, they were 
clearly wrong in the whole issue. 

It was evident that the war had to be fought out, that things 
could not remain as Lord Elgin had left them ; but it is a 
thousand pities that the occasion for unchaining England's 
thunder should be in one instance to exact payment for the 
destruction of a prohibited drug, in another to procure satis- 
faction for the insult implied in the Chinese exercising sum- 
mary justice on their own people, in a third a mere quibble of 
words, in the last the assertion of a privilege which the nego- 
tiators had forgotten to secure. The renewal of the war was 
the only way to permanent peace, and there is reason to believe 
that the Mongol prince and his party intended to bring on a 
conflict ; but it grieves one to see the more enlightened party 
so continually in the wrong. What estimate will a Chinese 
statesman on such a retrospect form of the morality of England? 

Since writing the above I find the following in Lord Malmes- 
bury's "Journal," under date of September 16, 1859: "Ac- 
counts from China very sad ; and if true Mr. Bruce is to 
blame. It is reported that the Chinese sent word [to the en- 
voys] that the Peiho was blocked, but that if they went by 
another road farther north they would be received." 



194 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

When the smoke had cleared away Mr. Ward set himself to 
consider what course remained for him to pursue. Unlike his 
predecessor, he came north by agreement with China. At the 
time of his coming there were no belligerents, and if the Eng- 
lish and French chose to make themselves such and get them- 
selves beaten that did not in any way bind him to follow their 
example. He had no objection to proceeding to Peking by 
any route the Chinese might offer, and it was possible that the 
Chinese might welcome the presence of a neutral in order to 
put their assailants in the wrong. Was it not possible too that 
a neutral might in consequence of this disaster secure the 
vantage-ground of a mediator? 

His reasoning was sound, but was he a neutral? Was he 
not compromised by the action of our commodore? He, 
however, had no misgivings, and drew up a despatch addressed 
to Hengfu, the new viceroy, whose camp was at Peitang, ten 
miles to the north. Steaming cautiously in that direction in 
our smallest boat, the " Toywan," we found the water every- 
where so shallow that we were unable to approach the shore. 
Taking the despatch, and accompanied by Mr. W^ard's brother 
and a midshipman, I put off in the captain's gig. The gig, 
however, took the ground when half a mile out. Not to be 
balked, I threw myself into the water and proceeded on foot, 
followed by the others. When we were yet distant from the 
landing about a hundred yards half a dozen men in plain dress 
dashed into the water and came to meet us, at the same time 
warning us not to advance. We waited their approach, and, 
waist-deep in mud and water, held a parley, endeavoring to 
induce them to permit us to land and deliver the despatch to 
the viceroy. " No," said the spokesman, who was no rustic, 
" it would cost you your lives. You say you are our friends, 
but how do we know? In fact, on seeing your ship we sent 
for a body of Tartar cavalry. They are coming," he exclaimed, 
looking landward with anxiety painted on his countenance. 



THE WAR RENEWED 195 

" Give me the despatch and get back to your ship." Nothing 
remained but to take his advice, and, as he manifested such 
dread of what might happen, we hastened our retreat as much 
as mud and water would permit. As, wet and weary, we 
clambered into the gig we saw a body of Tartar horse gallop 
down to the water's edge. Had they caught us in the act of 
attempting to land, there can be no doubt that, under the irri- 
tation of the recent battle, they would have shot us down with- 
out ceremony. A flag that had floated over the enemy's barges 
would have been no protection. 

A reply came the next day, inviting our minister to an inter- 
view. We were shown the proper channel and received with 
much pomp, passing between long files of soldiers armed with 
matchlocks, who had their matches lighted ready to shoot us 
at a sign from their commander, a precaution never taken at 
our interviews with the former viceroy. 

On July 19th we set out for the capital, escorted by a body 
of Chinese officials and soldiers, at the head of which I was 
glad to find the tao-tai Chunghau, whose acquaintance I had 
made the previous year. With him was associated Chang, a 
brigadier-general, with a red button. The latter took pains to 
inform me that he was a Mohammedan, expressing his behef 
in the substantial identity of his religion and mine. 

Mohammedans in China manifest very little of that antipathy 
to Christians which in western Asia has been handed down 
from the crusades. Some of them entered China by sea as early 
as the rise of Islam, and the tomb of an uncle of the Prophet 
is still pointed out at Canton. But the growth of their com- 
munities has been chiefly due to gradual infiltration from Turk- 
estan. Among the first to arrive from Turkestan was a body 
of auxiliaries hired by one of the emperors from the Caliph Al- 
Mansur to aid in a war with Tibet. They do not, as in Africa, 
carry on an active propaganda, though they have never ceased 
to gain strength from the accession of proselytes, and their 



196 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

whole number is probably not far short of ten millions. Their 
principal colonies are in Yunnan and the three provinces of the 
Northwest, the former being known as Pantais, the latter as 
Tunganis. During the troublous times succeeding the Taiping 
rebeUion the Mohammedans in both regions threw off the yoke 
of China ; but, having no connection or cooperation, they were 
suppressed after a long and desolating conflict. The Pantais 
succumbed to treachery rather than force, Ho Julung, the 
chief agent in their suppression, being a Moslem. The rebels 
of Kashgar were overcome by tactics which none but a Chi- 
nese would think of employing. The invaders halted long 
enough each year to plant and gather a harvest. It look ten 
years, but patience triumphed. 

At the present moment the Tunganis are again in revolt, 
encouraged probably by rumors of the Japanese invasion. 
They have overrun the whole of Kan-su and are threatening 
the capital of Shensi ; but it is not likely that they will be able 
to hold their ground, unless it should suit the pohcy of Russia 
to give them aid and countenance. They are said to be armed 
with rifles of Russian make.* 

In general the government has treated them with liberality 
and forbearance, admitting them freely to military office. 
Some of them have also attained civil offices of high grade, 
though in such positions they keep their religion in the back- 
ground. Masini, a viceroy of Nanking, was of Mohammedan 
family. He was killed by a co-religionist in revenge for a 
personal injury. 

Before starting Mr. Ward had forbidden his interpreters to 
speak to the natives on the subject of religion, but on second 
thoughts he withdrew the embargo, saying that he had no wish 
to be held up to odium before the eyes of the Am.erican peo- 



* It has not suited the policy of Russia to favor them, and their for- 
tunes are on the wane (February, 1896). 








/k_4 



A 1 






















=%' ^ 



f«^l^^^ 




THE WAR RENEWED 197 

pie. My experience was, as I assured him, that the more 
freely I spoke to the Chinese on the subject of religion the 
more friendly they showed themselves. The presentation of 
the claims of Christianity has never in any case excited a 
tumult, mobs and outbreaks having always been connected ' 
with anti-foreign feehng, if not with magical superstitions. A 
residence built on high ground will give as much umbrage as 
a church. 

Two days in carts drawn by mules across a thinly peopled 
country brought us to Peitang, on the Peiho, ten miles above 
Tientsin. Here we found boats waiting for us, one of which, 
a kind of three-decker drawn by sixteen men, was set apart for 
the minister. The current being strong, we made little head- 
way, and our poor truckers had toilsome work in mud and 
water, reminding me of my experience in those mixed elements. 
We moored at night, and in the morning were not surprised to 
find that some of the truckers had " made tracks." The loss 
was soon repaired. While we were at breakfast on the upper 
deck a crowd assembled to gaze at us, and half a dozen sol- 
diers swooping down upon them, each secured a man. The 
victims were dragged away by their pigtails and harnessed to 
a boat over which floated the banner of a free country! 

We were the guests of the emperor, and our wants were pro- 
vided for with imperial munificence. Not merely were the 
high officials whom I have mentioned made responsible for 
our safety : some of the mandarins attached to their suite were 
charged with the duty of purveying for the embassy. At our 
first stopping-place they called for our Canton comprador and 
cooks to ascertain what the " barbarians " were accustomed to 
feed on, as they desired to send orders in advance. To their 
dismay not a man in the culinary department could speak a 
word of Mandarin. So they sent for me, and I interpreted be- 
tween them and their own people. Had our cooks been suf- 
ficiently educated they might have communicated in writing, 



198 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

as the written language is no more affected by difference of 
dialect than are our Arabic numerals. 

The scenery was of that monotonous description which be- 
longs to an alluvial plain covered with crops interspersed with 
trees ; not a hill was visible until we approached the vicinity 
of Peking ; yet the river has a physiognomy of its own. High 
embankments, new and old, broken and whole, with heaps of 
material for renewing them, testify to the unruly character of 
the stream. Another equally striking witness is the absence 
of anything better than mud huts from the villages on its 
banks, no one choosing to build a good house where it is liable 
to be engulfed. No place on earth presents a more squalid 
aspect than this waterway to a great capital. The people, 
nevertheless, appeared well fed, and swarms of children, com- 
ing on to fill the ranks of China's millions, appeared supremely 
happy. Their chief pastime— and it must have been dehght- 
ful — was to divest themselves of clothing, if they had any, and 
slide down a slippery bank, finishing with a plunge in the 
water. There is no alchemy like youth and health. 

It took us five and a half days to reach Tungcho, the port 
of the capital, distant by water about one hundred and twenty 
miles. Here we were again provided with carts, but we found 
them intolerable on the stone-paved highroad. The man- 
darins of our escort courteously yielded their horses, taking 
our carts in exchange, and thus we reached the gates of the 
city, when we were requested to resume our seats in the carts 
in order to make our solemn entry. 

It was a mistake for Mr. Ward to accept a cart in the first 
instance. The envoys of Corea always travel in that fashion, 
but in Peking officers of the higher grades are carried in sedans, 
and he should have claimed the same privilege. He did, in 
fact, but yielded to the objections of the viceroy — it was his 
only weakness, unless his consent to the action of the commo- 
dore be counted another. 



THE WAR RENEWED 199 

The streets were lined with thousands of people, who had 
evidendy taken their stations long in advance, waiting to see 
the conquered barbarians led in triumph. There can be no 
doubt that we were represented as prisoners, or rather as a 
vanquished enemy who had come to make submission. 

We were lodged in a well-furnished house and luxuriously 
fed, but we were guarded like criminals. The Chinese minis- 
ters called on us the next day ; they were still Kweiliang and 
Hwashana, with the addition of Seih, a former tao-tai of Shang- 
hai, a man suspected of being the author of much of our 
humiliation and disappointment. We were not allowed to go 
abroad in the city, but were consoled by the assurance that 
when our business was finished we should see everything under 
the guidance of an official escort. Nor were we permitted to 
visit the Russian minister, the far-famed Ignatieff, who was in- 
stalled at the mission not far from our lodgings, engaged in 
selling arms and neutrality for large slices of territory. He 
had succeeded in reaching Mr. Ward while on the river with 
a very cordial letter of welcome ; but when a party of Rus- 
sians, Ignatieff among them no doubt, came to our door in 
the city they were rudely repelled by our guards, and not even 
a visiting-card was allowed to come in. 

We had two formal interviews with the Chinese ministers, 
and numerous informal meetings with Seih, the obstructive 
tao-tai. The first was at our hotel, the next at a great tem- 
ple near the north gate of the imperial precinct — the Kia- 
hingsze, in going to which we got a glimpse of the imperial hill 
crowned with picturesque pavilions. 

The first thing on the docket, as we were informed, was to 
see the emperor, after which the exchange of ratifications 
would take place. But what about the ceremony? We were 
coolly told there could be but one, viz., the koto, or Oriental 
prostration. Our minister objecting, a discussion ensued which 
was protracted for a fortnight, the Chinese yielding so far as 



200 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

to waive the koto and offer to accept kneeling instead. " I 
kneel only to God and woman," replied Mr. Ward. "The 
emperor," rejoined Kweiliang, in terms identical with those 
employed by Keying, "is the same as God." 

Day after day they hammered away on this point, and it 
naturally grew both sharper and hotter, Mr. Ward holding firm, 
and authorizing me to say that he would sooner lose his head 
than bring his knees to the ground. At length we were noti- 
fied that his Majesty was so desirous of seeing us that not even 
a kneeling posture would be required ; our minister would have 
before him a curtained table so that he should seem to kneel. 
To this Mr. Ward assented ; not, however, without demanding 
that it should be distinctly understood that he would not kjieel. 
Kweiliang replied that two chamberlains would seize him by 
the arms, saying. Fit kwe.pu kive (" Don't kneel, don't kneel "). 

I rather thought that instead of tiying to prevent his kneel- 
ing they would push him to his knees, especially as Seih said 
slyly, " Nothing is required of you, but when you see the em- 
peror you will be so overcome with awe that you will fall down 
of your own accord." 

Mr. Ward had faith in the firmness of his own will, and a 
day was fixed for us to go out to the summer palace. The 
hour came, our uniform was donned and horses were at the 
door, when in came the ill-boding ex-tao-tai to say that the 
emperor " insisted on the full ceremony. His Majesty had 
heard of the part we took in the recent combat, lending a ship 
and landing two hundred marines! He required the koto in 
proof of sincere repentance." 

The wily Chinaman evidently expected that we would sur- 
render at the last moment, but Mr. Ward replied by directing 
us to take off our uniform and send away the horses. The 
ex-tao-tai left us in anger, and the next day came an imperial 
mandate commanding Mr. Ward to quit the capital and to ex- 
change copies of the treaty with the viceroy at the sea-coast. 



THE WAR RENEWED 201 

From the moment of our first meeting in the capital the 
gentle old Kweiliang had assumed a menacing tone, quite un- 
like anything he had before exhibited. His change of manner 
Mr. Ward ascribed to the fact that official spies and princes in 
disguise were always present ; he was therefore bound to do 
his best to bully us into compliance. He would have done 
better to refer it to his own violation of neutrality, an impru- 
dence which placed him at the mercy of the Chinese. 

The emperor, we were frequently told, was very angry. 
Impetuous and arbitrary we knew him to be, and sometimes 
the thought crossed our minds that heads might pay the forfeit 
of the stubborn and unyielding knees. In a trying situation, 
Mr. Ward displayed courage enough to atone for the question- 
able diplomacy that had got him into such a scrape. In re- 
fusing to kneel he confirmed the Chinese in a belief, which 
they had expressed during the first war, that " foreigners had 
no knee-joints." 

We turned our backs on the capital with perhaps as much 
pleasure as we had experienced on entering its gates. How 
could I foresee that for me there were, held in reserx'e within 
that fortress of conservatism thirty-one yqars of busy, happy 
life ! I left it free from any illusion as to its vaunted magnifi- 
cence. Whatever of the grand or beautiful it contains has to 
be sought for ; the general aspect, that forces itself on all the 
senses, is one of decay and dirt. The walls are imposing, the 
outer one inclosing a circuit of twenty-three miles, and that 
of the Tartar city, fourteen ; but the shops are mean, and the 
streets, though wide, are filthy in the extreme. No building is 
more than one story in height, and blind walls facing the streets 
shut in from view the mansions of the rich and great. There 
is no better description than the following fines from " Childe 
Harold," which I then wrote in my journal as expressive of 
my first impression. A hbel on Lisbon, they are true of 
Peking : 



202 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

" But whoso entereth within this town, 

That, sheening far, a celestial seems to be, 
Disconsolate will wander up and down 

'Mid many things unsightly to strange e'e; 
For hut and palace show like filthily. 

The dingy denizens are reared in dirt, 
No personage of high or mean degree 

Doth care for cleanness of surtout or shirt, 
Though shent with Egypt's plague, unkempt, unwashed, unhurt!" 



Ratifications were exchanged with the viceroy Hengfu at 
the town of Peitang, whence we had started. On the com- 
pletion of the ceremony he said to Mr. Ward that he had a 
"prisoner to release, an American who had been captured in 
the battle, one of the party sent to the aid of the English." 
In vain Mr. Ward protested that we had not fired a shot or 
contributed a man. Here was the man, and he was brought 
out to confront us, the viceroy betraying a malicious pleasure 
in our anticipated conviction. The fellow proved to be a 
Canadian, and confessed that he had called himself an Amer- 
ican in hopes of securing better treatment. He had been in 
the United States, he said, but had never taken the oath of 
allegiance. The viceroy's interpreter made him say that, 
" though he had been in the United States, he did not belong 
to their religion." I corrected the mistake, and the viceroy 
insisted on my continuing to interpret to the end of the inter- 
view. We took over the Canadian, and passed him on to the 
British admiral. 

The viceroy's interpreter was a pupil of the first Bishop 
Boone, and bore the bishop's name. He was loud in his pro- 
fessions of Christian zeal, and so clever that I conceived high 
hopes of his usefulness. Not long after this he renounced 
Christianity, married two wives, and was made a district mag- 
istrate in the interior. Among the graduates of Christian 
schools such defections are happily the exception, not the rule. 



THE WAR RENEWED 



203 



The Rev. W. Aitchison, assistant interpreter, died on our 
way to the coast. A graduate of Yale, and of more than 
average ability, he suffered from feeble health and low spirits, 
dying, as Dr. Fox said, because he had "made up his mind 
not to live." Carried in a litter on the backs of mules, he 
breathed his last alone on the road and was buried at sea, 
curiously fulfilling a prayer or presentiment expressed in the 
following morbid effusion found among his papers : 

" Let no friend be near to close my fixed eye 
Or bend his ear for my last faint sigh ; 
Be not the churchyard my place of rest ; 
Let no hallowed dust fall on my breast ; 

" Where sleep my fathers, let me not sleep; 
May loved ones o'er my grave ne'er weep! 
Let no speaking marble mark the spot 
Where 'neath the clods my body shall rot." 

Putting " waves " in place of " clods," never was a seer's second 
sight more exact. 




THE EMBASSY ON THE ROAU TO I'EKING. (SEE I'AGE 187.) 



CHAPTER XIII 

LAST VIEWS OF NINGPO 

A Chinese steamer and its owner— A steamer short of coal— Actors 
before the curtain. 

MY trips to the North had the effect of directing my atten- 
tion to that part of the empire as a field of labor, and of 
detaching me from Ningpo, a city of which I can truly say, 
" With all thy faults I love thee still." * There I had passed ten 
years of youthful energy, years in which the mind is most sus- 
ceptible to impressions from new scenes, and in which the 
faculties are in the best state for the acquisition of a foreign 
language. But my wife and I had suffered from malaria, and 
we hoped after a visit home to find on the shores of the North- 
ern Gulf a fresh arena with a more salubrious climate. 

For passage to Shanghai I applied in writing to Mr. Chang 
Luseng, a native gentleman who had recently purchased a 
steamer. He replied in pohte phrase : " If you will conde- 
scend to accept such accommodations as my poor ship can 
offer I shall esteem it an honor to convey you and your family 
to Shanghai. In so doing, I shall regard myself as discharg- 
ing a debt of hospitahty which my country owes to scholars 

* Laurence Oliphant, writing in 1859, speaks of Ningpo as the "city 
which decidedly ranks first among those at present open to Europeans. 
It is also celebrated for having produced some of the ablest scholars in 
China." 

204 



LAST VIEWS OF NINGPO 205 

from afar." When I tendered payment he dedined to receive 
it, showing that the last sentence of his note was not a conven- 
tional courtesy. 

With Mr. Chang I was already somewhat acquainted, and 
our relations became more intimate, ripening into a friendship 
of many years. A scholar by profession, and born to the in- 
heritance of wealth, he may be taken as a type of the best 
class of Chinese Hterati, those in whom a knowledge of ancient 
learning does not beget a prejudice against modern science. 
He had been much struck by the medical skill of Dr. McCartee, 
and learning that most medicines in the West are prepared by 
the rules of chemistry^ he requested the doctor to teach him 
something of that science, actually filling two large fohos with 
notes on the subject. Three years later, when I met him in 
Shanghai and showed him the manuscript of my translation of 
Wheaton's ** International Law," he at once perceived the 
bearing of the work, as indispensable to the new place China 
was called to occupy among the nations. He foresaw too 
that the book would attract the attention of the highest digni- 
taries in the land, and, unsolicited, he wrote a preface which 
exhibited a comprehension of foreign relations very rare at 
that epoch. While it served to give wing to the book, it no 
doubt had something to do with opening for him a door to 
diplomatic employment. He was sent as minister adjunct to 
Japan, and on his return appointed to a prefecture near Pe- 
king. His younger brother, Chang Tingfong, came to the 
United States as attache to the Chinese legation. Subse- 
quently for more than ten years he has held a secretaryship in 
the legation in London. When I first met the elder Chang he 
was young and handsome despite his shaven pate and dangling 
cue. Having already won a baccalaureate in the civil-service 
examinations, he might have counted on high preferment if he 
had adhered to the beaten track. He saw, however, that new 
forces had come on the stage which must inevitably change 



2o6 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

the old order. Abandoning the business of verse-making, he 
struck out a novel career by purchasing the steamer above 
referred to, the first Chinese in private life to make such a 
venture. 

His ship did but little in the carrying trade, as he found "it 
more profitable to chase pirates, in which exciting pursuit his 
range was not limited to any particular portion of the extensive 
sea-coast. On a cruise to the North he once put into the port 
of Kiaochau, where a steamer had never been seen. Going 
ashore, the local mandarin arrested him, and he narrowly es- 
caped being thrown into prison. The official let him go, but 
reported him to the throne and had him deprived of his insig- 
nia of rank, not for the violation of any existing law, but for 
frightening the people by bringing a " fire-ship " into that quiet 
seaport. 

Mr. Chang was rather deficient in the reHgious sense, but 
he had common sense enough to perceive the absurdities of 
the popular superstitions and the benefits China might reap 
from the introduction of Christianity. Coming to my house 
in deep sorrow shortly after the death of his wn'fe, he said that 
at the funeral he had refused to conform to a very important 
item in the Buddhist ceremonial, adding that she was so vir- 
tuous and good that it would be an outrage to represent her 
soul as carried off to hell between two devils. The paper 
images of those devils had consequently not appeared in her 
funeral procession. He published an essay to prove that China 
had derived more benefit from Christian missions than from 
foreign commerce. 

Another voyage on a native-owned steamer is worth men- 
tion. Finding myself in Shanghai in 1862, after my return 
from the United States, I desired to go to Ningpo before pro- 
ceeding to the North. Taking passage on a small steamer which 
had just been purchased by Mr. Wang, a Ningpo man, on the 
way down I made acquaintance with the fortunate possessor. 



LAST VIEWS OF NINGPO 207 

"My little steamer," said he, "is to come back by way of 
Chusan in two days. If you are ready I hope you will honor 
me with your company ; but if you are not ready at the precise 
time we can wait for you a day or two, so you need not hurry." 
I took care to be on time, but, to show that his courtesy was 
not confined to words, Mr. Wang refused to allow me to pay 
for my passage. The termination of this voyage (the first for 
the little steamer under Chinese management) was extremely 
comical. When fifty miles from port the engineer reported 
that he was short of coal. A strong tide was against us, and 
our last lump was in the furnace before we entered the Wusung 
River. Again the engineer came to ask what was to be done. 
" Shall we drop anchor and take the chances of getting help 
from some passing steamer?" " No," said the owner; "there 
is no teUing how long we should have to wait. Bum the gun- 
carriages." The guns were dismounted, and the heavy wooden 
frames put into the fire. In half an hour the steam again got 
low. " Burn the tables," said the owner ; and they had actu- 
ally begun on the tables when a steamer hove in sight and re- 
lieved our distress. Through it all the owner was as calm and 
collected as an Indian warrior contemplating the flames of his 
funeral pile. 

Ningpo, where I had formed lifelong friendships, served a 
long apprenticeship in Chinese studies, and had done some 
of my best work, I never saw again. Looking back, the eye 
rests on several persons of more or less distinction. 

The most remarkable figure in the foreign community was 
Miss Aldersey, an Enghsh missionary, who was unconnected 
with any society. Born with beauty and fortune, she escaped 
matrimony, not for want of temptation, for she was known to 
refuse at least one offer. She was early attracted toward the 
missionary work, but remained at home nursing her aged father 
until he no longer required her care ; then she spent some years 
in Java, and finally, at the close of the war, came to China, 



2o8 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

Though not young when she left home, she learned to read 
Chinese, and to speak it in a way to be understood by her 
pupils if not by strangers. 

Sparing no expense, she leased a large house in the midst 
of the city, and opened a school for girls. It was a model in- 
stitution, though too early in the history of the station to yield 
the best results. For three years at her request I ministered 
to the church in her house, and I cherish a vivid impression 
of the energy displayed by that excellent woman, notwithstand- 
ing a feeble frame and frequent ailments. The impression she 
made on the Chinese, whether Christian or pagan, was pro- 
found. The latter firmly believed that, as England was ruled 
by a woman, so Miss Aldersey had been delegated to be the 
ruler of our foreign community. The British consul, they said, 
always obeyed her commands. Several shocks of earthquake 
having alarmed the people, they imputed the disturbance to 
Miss Aldersey's magic power, alleging that they had seen her 
mount the city wall before the dawn of day and open a bottle 
in which she kept confined certain strong spirits, which pro- 
ceeded to shake the pillars of the earth. No wonder they 
thought so. The wonder is that they did not burn or stone 
her for a witch. Her strange habits suggested something un- 
canny. The year round she was accustomed to walk on the 
wall at five in the morning, and with such undeviating punctu- 
ality that in winter-time she was preceded by a servant carry- 
ing a lantern. A bottle which she carried in her hand really 
contained " strong spirits," the spirits of hartshorn, which she 
constantly used to relieve headache and as an antidote for ill 
odors. 

In the summer, unwilling to leave her school to go to the 
seaside, she would cHmb to the ninth story of a lofty pagoda 
and sit there through the long hours of the afternoon, sniffing 
the wind that came from the sea. At such times she was 
always accompanied by some of her pupils, so that her v/ork 



LAST VIEWS OF XINGPO 209 

was not for a moment suspended. So parsimonious was she 
of time that she had them read to her while taking her meals. 
A favorite pupil was Sanavong, a young widow of twenty 
summers, who had been in the school before her marriage. 
Less dark than her sisters, a tinge of sadness rested on her 
pretty features that spoke of more than common sorrow. But, 
alas! such griefs as hers are not infrequent under the despotic 
organization of the Chinese family. Betrothed by her parents 
without any choice of her own, she had been married when 
scarcely out of her childhood to a man she had never seen. 
The young man dying soon after, she remained with his pa- 
rents as a drudge and chattel. They reproached her with hav- 
ing brought ill luck into the family. The fault was really that 
of an astrologer, who, on comparing their natal stars, predicted 
that the union would be happy ; but the thought that their 
son had been the victim of a mistake did not make them more 
lenient in their treatment of her. They resolved to compel her 
to marry again, that they might free themselves from an evil 
influence and recoup themselves for the money spent in pres- 
ents to her parents. But widows are at a discount in the 
Chinese marriage market even more than elsewhere. The 
amount offered in the way of presents, or, to speak plainly, 
purchase-money, did not satisfy them. They could get more 
by selhng her without the conditions of honorable wedlock; 
and this they were about to do when, the affair coming to the 
ears of Miss Aldersey, she to rescue the poor girl became her 
purchaser, violating the letter of English law in order to carry 
out its spirit. Eventually Sanavong married a native preacher, 
who had a country parish. In my itinerations I once lodged 
at her house, and was greatly struck with the grace and dignity 
with which she presided over a Christian household. 

Many such households call Miss Aldersey blessed, and I can 
truly say that in the long list of devoted women who have 
labored for China I know of no nobler name than that of Mary 



2 10 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

Ann Aldersey. The following letter of Sanavong, written in 
her own simple English and addressed to her benefactress on 
the latter's resignation of her school, is a cardiphonia that 
speaks for both. 

" My very dear Miss Aldersey : I beg you to receive 
my little present ; it is only to show I remember your kindness 
to me ; I hope you will use it to show you hke it. It is a 
Chinese bag ; I thought you might like to see such. 

" May the Lord bless your old age, and let you see a thou- 
sand and a million sinners come to look to the Lamb of God, 
which taketh away the sin of the world, while you are yet 
alive, 

"When I heard you were to leave us here, bow sad I felt! 
for you have just been like my mother to me. Yea, my own 
mother has not been half like you. I was just a young help- 
less widow and a motherless child cast upon the wide and 
selfish world ; but I quickly remembered one text, John xiv. 
18, which you bid me to remember when I was thirteen years 
old. At that time I was about to leave school. [She was 
going to be married.] You said to me, ' Sanavong, you will 
not be alone ; your Saviour will be with you there.' 

" Pray the Lord for me, my very dear Christian mother, 
that I may be the Lord's useful and faithful, wise, humble 
servant in this bitter and sinful world. When we are no more 
in this world we will be with our blessed Saviour, to rest in 
heaven, to part no more. 

" Yours affectionately, 
(Signed) " Sanavong." 

Dr. D. B. McCartee was the pioneer of the station and 
founder of the Presbyterian Mission. Genial and gifted, 
he was a great favorite with the Chinese as well as with 
foreigners, acquiring among the former a high reputation for 



LAST VIEWS OF NINGPO 211 

medical skill. A man whom he had restored to sight by oper- 
ating for cataract exclaimed on opening his eyes, " I never 
thought foreigners looked like that," meaning his physician. 
He had been blind for seven years, and always heard them 
called himgmao (" redheads ") or kwetze (" devils "). One day 
I assisted at the amputation of a man's leg, when the physi- 
cian, on tying the last ligament, fainted away. His nerves were 
too delicate for such rough work, and he long ago renounced 
the shedding of blood. For some years he occupied a chair 
in the University of Tokio, and now, after fifty-two years in the 
East, he is still doing missionary work in the capital of Japan. 

Another prominent member of the Ningpo mission was the 
Rev. M. S. Culbertson. His monument in Ningpo is a large 
brick church of which he was the architect, and his memory 
is preserved among missionaries by a version of the Scriptures 
which he made conjointly with Dr. Bridgman.* Educated at 
West Point, along with Halleck, Beauregard, and Sherman, 
Culbertson held a commission as second Heutenant in the 
United States army when the pressure of religious convictions 
impelled him to join the spiritual crusade in the far East, If 
he could have seen through the veil of the future might he not 
have decided differently, and lived to lead the armies of his 
country, instead of filling an early grave on a foreign shore? 

Mrs. Coulter, daughter of President Crowe, of Hanover Col- 
lege, was among the playmates of my childhood, and it was a 
welcome providence that brought us together in that far-off mis- 
sion. Her husband, who had charge of the mission press, dying 

* Dr. Bridgman was the pioneer of American missions to China. Sent 
to Canton by the American Board in 1830, he found there Dr. Morri- 
son, the sole representative of the missionary movement from the side of 
Great Britain. He founded the " Chinese Repository," a magazine that 
did much to make China better known to the outside world, and in 1847 
removed to Shanghai to join a committee in the translation of the Scrip- 
tures, 



212 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

on the threshold of his work, she returned home and has taken 
a leading part in missions to the freedmen of the South, train- 
ing in the meantime her two sons for positions of distinguished 
usefulness. One of them has been president of the Indiana 
State University, and now presides over Lake Forest Univer- 
sity, Illinois. 

The Rev. H. V. Rankin and his wife opened a boarding- 
school for girls, which continues to flourish. After twenty 
years of not unfruitful labors, he fell on the field, leaving the 
memory of a character which I should pronounce faultless if 
I dare apply that epithet to anything human. 

The Rev. S. N. D. Martin, my brother, was another associate 
in the work of foreign missions. Two years my senior, he has been 
to me dimidium atiimce. His figure mingles with the recollections 
of my childhood and youth. As boys we often quarreled and 
sometimes fought, I not having learned the Chinese doctrine, 
so important for the peace of famihes, that a younger should 
always be in subjection to an older brother. As we grew in 
years our affection gained in strength. At college we at- 
tended the same classes, joined the same literary societies, and 
fell in love, not with the same girl, but with sisters. Fortunately 
I fell out, or I should not have had the lifelong companion- 
ship of one who to me has been more than half of my soul. 
After eight years of missionary service he was compelled to 
retire by a disease of the throat, of which he was first made 
aware by a hemorrhage brought on by the exertion of swim- 
ming a river in returning from preaching in the city. What 
a nice bit of romance might be made of this in the interest of 
missions — a devoted missionary exposing his life every day in 
swimming a river to preach the gospel! But at the risk of 
spoiling a picture truth compels me to state that there was a 
ferry-boat, and that he took to the water from an aquatic habit 
formed in early youth. The hymns which he composed are still 
sung in the native churches of that region, and the pulpits of 



LAST VIEWS OF NINGPO 213 

those churches are largely filled by pastors who were trained 
in a mission school under his care. The college at Hangchau 
claims the succession to that school, which was first opened by 
the Rev. R. Q. Way. 

One of my most intimate associates was Dr. Nevius, late of 
Chefoo. He was the first missionary to establish himself at 
Hangchau, the capital of the province, unless Bishop Burdon 
may contest that honor, and one of the first to break soil in 
the province of Shantung, where so rich a harvest has since 
been gathered. The great day of accounts will alone reveal 
the extent of his apostolic labors. Besides planting churches 
he displayed his breadth and enterprise in transplanting some 
of our best American fruits, which have proved a great boon 
to the people. His wife, who survives to write his biography, 
is a remarkable woman. Shortly after entering the mission 
field she was under the necessity of returning home to avoid 
a threatened collapse. Her husband offered to accompany 
her. " Never," she replied in my hearing ; " sooner would I 
die than take you from your work." 

Frail as she appeared, she had before her nearly forty years 
in the foreign field, during which, in addition to other forms 
of activity, she did much to naturalize our church music in 
China. She has long since lost her own sweet voice, but 
hundreds of voices trained by her continue the service of 
song.* 

Of Bishop Russell and Messrs. Cobbold and Gough, an ad- 
mirable trio, who formed the English Church Mission, I have 
spoken already. To them the two Monies, one a bishop, are 
worthy successors, all five graduates of Oxford, Cambridge, 
and Dubhn. 

In the American Baptist Mission were three men of note : 
the Rev. J. Goddard, a translator of the Bible; Dr. D. J. 

* The biography is published by the Fleming H. Revell Company, 
with an introduction by me. 



2 14 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

MacGowan, a physician of rare intelligence ; and the Rev. 
E. C. Lord, who, though a good scholar, a good preacher, and a 
good consul, is, like Henry VI II,, best known for the number 
of his wives. 

I conclude with two names, more eminent than any of the 
preceding — Robert Hart, and Hudson Taylor. From a bud- 
ding interpreter the former has blossomed into the famous 
statesman known as the "Great I. G." His career, to which 
there is no parallel in the East or West, will be further noticed 
in connection with Peking. The latter, who rules as many 
men, and with a sway not less absolute, is the Loyola of Prot- 
estant missions. When I first met him he was a mystic absorbed 
in religious dreams, waiting to have his work revealed— not 
idle, but aimless. When he had money he spent it on charity 
to needy Chinese, and then was reduced to sore straits himself. 
When the vocation found him it made him a new man, with 
iron will and untiring energy. He erred in leading his follow- 
ers to make war on ancestral worship, instead of seeking to 
reform it ; still, in founding and conducting the China Inland 
Mission, he has made an epoch in the history of missionary 
enterprise. 



PART II 

LIFE IN NORTH CHINA 



215 



if if if if if if if ^if if if if 



LIFE IN NORTH CHINA 



CHAPTER I 

REMOVAL TO PEKING 
The capital captured — Scenes at the hills — Temples and priests 

FROM the day of the defeat at Taku a storm was gathering 
that was destined to burst on the palaces of Peking. One 
thing, and only one, could have averted it ; namely, that the 
Chinese should treat the American minister with generous con- 
fidence, secure his good offices, and give evidence that they 
meant to ratify the treaties. They lost their opportunity by 
fiddhng while Rome was burning, quibbling over the details 
of an absurd ceremony. By the indignities to which they sub- 
jected us they showed the English and French ministers what 
was in store for them if they had presented themselves, and 
convinced the Allies that the rupture was premeditated. 

In August, i860, the feeble redoubts at Peitang were taken 
without the firing of a shot, the Chinese either imagining that the 
shallows would prevent a landing at that point, or that the Allies 
would be foolish enough to repeat the tactics of the previous 
year. A march of ten miles placed the forces in rear of the 
great forts at the mouth of the Peiho. Impregnable from the 

217 



2i8 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

front, they were not so strong on the landward side, and they 
were soon in the hands of the assailants, notwithstanding a 
defense brave enough to excite the admiration of Colonel (now 
Lord) Wolseley, then commanding a division of the British 
force. 

Tientsin fell without a blow, and poor old Kweiliang ap- 
peared on the scene once more, his master supposing that the 
victors would be induced to play over again the farce of the 
Mirage Temple and the fruitless parleys of the previous year. 
This time they felt strong enough to advance to the capital, 
and diplomacy was brushed aside. Twice the Chinese made 
a stand, and twice they were put to flight, though the Allies 
had a force of only twenty thousand to oppose an immense 
horde of foot and horse. It was the old story of discipline 
versus numbers. On the wall of an inn near the scene of one 
of these battles I found a pasquinade in Chinese aimed at the 
Tartar general, concluding with the couplet: 

" When he fights and runs away, 
Is it war or is it play? " 

From the other battle, which took place at a bridge over the 
canal near Peking, was derived the title of the Duke of Palikao, 
who, ten years later, figured in the defense of Paris. 

Prior to the first battle overtures had been made by Chinese 
commissioners with a view to stopping the advance of the army 
and arranging terms of peace. Consul Parkes, accompanied 
by a score of officers and men, was sent under a flag of truce 
to meet these commissioners. Finding that the Chinese were 
preparing an ambush, Parkes succeeded in giving the English 
general notice of the fact ; but when he applied for a pass to 
return to the English army (the battle having begun), he and 
his party were made prisoners. Overjoyed at having in his 
hands the author of the war, the Chinese commander (Sengko- 
linsin, the Mongol prince) overwhelmed him with a torrent of 



REMOVAL TO PEKING 219 

abuse and had him consigned to a separate prison. There 
he was incarcerated with a single companion, Mr. (now Sir 
Henry) Loch, governor of the Cape ; while his companions 
were marched to the summer palace, where they were left to 
perish, bound hand and foot. When the emperor heard of the 
defeat of his troops he fled to Jehol, beyond the Great Wall. 

The city held out, its defenders trusting to the strength of 
its wall (from forty to fifty feet in height and nearly as much 
in thickness), a formidable structure if properly manned. The 
summer palace, from which the emperor had fled, was more 
exposed. The inclosure, six miles in circumference, and form- 
ing a city in itself, was unfortified, and thus was easily taken^ 
though a small army of euiuichs fought bravely in its defense. 
The discovery of the corpses of those British soldiers — the hap- 
less victims of treachery and cruelty — filled the army with in- 
dignation and led Lord Elgin to order the destruction of the 
palace — a proceeding not permitted by international usage, but 
one which he felt at liberty to employ with a people who 
showed no regard for the laws of civilized warfare. Sir 
Thomas Wade, who was Chinese secretary to Lord Elgin, has 
since told me that the motive was not so much vengeance as 
a humane desire to strike at the court without destroying the 
people — the Yuen Ming Yuen being situated seven miles be- 
yond the city gates. For three days the smoke of its burning 
rose toward heaven, and, borne by a northwest breeze, hung 
like a pall over the haughty capital, striking terror into its 
authorities and inducing them to open the gates only half an 
hour before the time set for the bombardment. 

Heng-ki, who had been Jioppo^ or port collector, at Can- 
ton, and subsequently became minister in the Tsungli Yamen, 
had befriended Parkes and Loch and procured their release. 
To him also belongs the merit of having induced the military 
mandarins to open the gates by assuring them that the victors 
would keep their word and spare the city. The inhabitants 



2 20 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

were paralyzed with fear, expecting nothing but death and pil- 
lage, the looting and burning of the summer palace not tend- 
ing to quiet their apprehensions. 

Liu, an old Tartar mandarin, told me that on the day when 
the troops were to enter he barred his doors, assembled his 
family about him, and drank deeply to fortify himself for the 
dreadful act he had resolved to perform, which was to throw 
the women and children into a well and then jump in after 
them. Preparations for the same grim sacrifice were made in 
many houses, but messengers passed from door to door, shout- 
ing : " Be not afraid ; the English have entered and are doing 
no harm." 

Prince Kung, one of the emperor's brothers, coming forward 
as plenipotentiary, a treaty of peace was signed with each of 
the belligerents, and in a few days the barbarian force with its 
irresistible arms was on its march to the sea. One Englishman 
alone remained in the capital— Mr. Adkins, afterward consul, 
whom I had known at Ningpo as student interpreter. He 
had the courage to pass the winter in a prince's mansion that 
had been fixed on for the residence of a British minister. " A 
treaty extorted by an enemy under your walls is a brand of in- 
famy," was a maxim of the Chinese feudal age. Often have 
I heard it cited, with the addition, " How much more a treaty 
signed within the walls! " meaning that China would repudiate 
the engagements then entered into if ever she found herself able 
to do so. It is a curious illustration of the slendemess of the 
thread on which the destiny of a nation sometimes hangs that 
on Hienfung's abandonment of Peking it was a serious ques- 
tion with the Allies whether they should set the empire on its 
legs, or go to Nanking and negotiate with the rebel chief. 

There was a third solution, from which, if they thought of 
it, they were deterred by mutual jealousies or imaginary difii- 
culties. A Chinese legend represents two friends as seeing a 
nugget of gold in their path and passing it by because neither 



REMOVAL TO PEKING 221 

was willing to profit by being, the first to pick it up. Our two 
ambassadors were perhaps equally disinterested ; but if the rep- 
resentatives of the same powers were to-day in the same situa- 
tion, does any one suppose that they would leave the nugget 
undisturbed ? Would they not take it, if for no other reason 
than to prevent its falling into the hands of other powers? 

Despite his fine intellect and high culture, Lord Elgin was 
singularly unfitted for dealing with the peculiar problems that 
were constantly cropping up in the course of the China war. 
After the capture of the viceroy at Canton the governor and 
mandarins were happy to be permitted to exercise their func- 
tions under English authority ; and now that the capital was 
taken and the throne virtually vacant, would not all the man- 
darins of the empire have been glad to do the same ? Elgin's 
omission to open Tientsin when he first had it in his power 
was, as I have said, a glaring blunder ; nor was it a less blunder 
to fail to reorganize the empire on European principles when 
he had the capital in his possession. 

In December, 1857, in a private letter written before the 
walls of Canton, after describing the industry of the people 
and the fertility of the plains, and looking beyond to the hills 
that reminded him of '* heather slopes in the Highlands," Lord 
Elgin adds : " I thought bitterly of those who for the most 
selfish objects are trampling underfoot this ancient civiliza- 
tion." A man of more nerve and less sentiment, once master 
of Peking, might have thought of replacing that ''ancient 
civilization " with something better. 
\j' Intelligence of these events reached me while I was at home 

on furlough, and I returned to China in 1862 with a view to 
opening a mission in Peking. Detained in Shanghai by the 
death of Dr. Culbertson, who had the editorial supervision of 
our mission press, I employed a portion of my time in translat- 
ing Wheaton's " Elements of International Law," a work that 
was to exert some influence on two empires as well as on the 



22 2 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

course of my own life. The want of such a book had early- 
forced itself on my attention, and I was proposing to take 
Vattel for my text, when Mr. Ward recommended Wheaton 
as being more modern and equally authoritative. 

In the following spring I wrote to Hon. Anson Burlingame, 
our minister at Peking, proposing to complete the translation 
for the use of the Chinese government. He gave me much 
encouragement, assuring me of his aid to bring it before the 
mandarins, and in June I took passage for the North. At 
Tientsin I was cordially received by Chunghau, superinten- 
dent of trade, whom I had first seen in 1858, and with whom I 
had become better acquainted in the following year, as chief 
of escort during our journey from the coast to the capital and 
back to the sea. Looking over the manuscript of Wheaton, he 
was struck with its adaptation to the wants of China in her new 
relations, and promised to write on the subject to Wensiang, 
the leading minister in the Tsungli Yamen, or Board of Foreign 
Affairs, then newly organized under the presidency of Prince 
Kung. 

Leaving my family at the seaport, I went on to the capital, 
where I found Dr. Williams in the city and the American 
minister at the hills twelves miles to the west. In the zenith 
of manhood, of medium height and stout of frame, his broad 
brow stamped with the impress of intellect, and a ripple of 
humor playing about his lips, the whole aspect of Mr. BurHn- 
game was winning and impressive. He and his charming wife 
welcomed me as if I had been an old friend, and insisted that 
I should lodge with them instead of returning to town. They 
were at the Sanshanan (** Temple of the Three Hills") orTre- 
mont Temple, as the name was happily rendered to keep alive 
their memories of Boston, a temple which for thirty-three years 
has continued to be the summer home of the American legation. 
Sir Frederick Bruce, the British minister, was installed near by 
at the " Temple of the Spirit Light," whose attractions were a 



REMOVAL TO PEKING 223 

fine pagoda and a fountain of delicious water gushing from an 
overhanging cliff. I found Sir Frederick under a gauze tent, 
besieged by an army of mosquitos. It was under a curtain 
supplied by him that I passed my first night at the hills. 

In the afternoon Burlingame proposed an exciu"sion to a 
rocky eminence overlooking these temples. He and Bruce led 
the way, while I helped Mrs. Burlingame to climb the rugged 
steep. At the top we were joined by tw^o or three young men, 
one of them charge iVaffaires for Russia. Burlingame sud- 
denly mounted a stone and began a speech, in which he ex- 
tolled the deeds of all the Bruces, from Bruce of Bannockburn 
to Elgin, viceroy of India, and his brother, the minister to 
China, and concluded by dubbing that bold promontory 
" Mount Bruce." We threw up our hats with a shout, and, a 
passing cloud contributing a few drops, the christening was 
complete. 

Bruce was not an orator, yet he managed to stammer out 
his acknowledgments, and, pointing to a higher peak at the 
head of the valley, gave it the name of Burlingame. The two 
peaks in foreign usage still retain the appellations of the pio- 
neer ministers, though the Chinese continue to call the one 
" Tiger's Head " and the other " Green Mountain." The gen- 
eral name of the locahty is Patachu (" the Eight Great Places "), 
six famous temples besides the two mentioned being planted 
at conspicuous points on the sides of a picturesque gorge. No 
account of life at Peking is complete without some notice of 
these hills, in which the foreign community takes refuge from 
the heat of summer. 

Peking occupies the focus of a parabola formed by the junc- 
tion of two systems of hills, one fringing the Mongolian plateau 
and sweeping eastward to the gulf, the other bounding the high- 
lands of the west and extending south for four hundred miles 
to the banks of the Yellow River. Carpeted with grass, but 
destitute of trees, excepting a few groves planted in sacred 



2 24 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

places, the hills rise, range on range, like the waves of a green 
sea, to the height of respectable mountains, some of the peaks 
measuring from four to five thousand feet. 

In the vicinity of the capital the most picturesque valleys 
have been selected for Buddhist monasteries ; flourishing while 
the summer palace was in its glory, these are now falling to 
decay. Their votaries being few, the priests are glad to augment 
their revenues by letting to foreigners the spacious guest-rooms, 
no longer required for the accommodation of native worship- 
ers. The " Temple of Long Repose " forms a vestibule to the 
sacred ground. On its wall some poetic visitor has inscribed 
a few hues, which I thus paraphrase : 

" Oil, who can to thy altars come. 
Thou House of Long Repose! 
And not forget his earthly home. 
With all its cares and woes? 

" Thy purling streams are crystal clear, 
Thy hills of emerald green ; 
And from this charming belvedere 
Unfolds a fairy scene. 

" Here cloistered in this mountain vale. 
As in another sphere, 
Of peace or war they hear no tale, 
Nor mark the passing year. 

** When bells are chimed and prayers are said. 
They sit in silent thought. 
How few like them a life have led, 
That fears and wishes naught!" 

All these temples enjoy pretty views, their monkish found- 
ers showing decided taste in the selection of sites suitable for 
self-mortification. The prospect widens as you ascend, until 
you reach the Pearl Grotto, the highest of the eight, which 
sheltered me and mine for fifteen summers. Here it expands 



REMOVAL TO PEKING 225 

SO as to take in the vast plain with its boundaries of distant 
hills. The great city of Peking, with its ghttering palaces, is 
the central object of interest ; while the Hunting Park on the 
south, the summer palace on the northwest, the Hill of Lon- 
gevity — where the empress dowager hves in retirement, sur- 
rounded by a sumptuous court, and visited every five days by 
the emperor, who performs the koto at her feet — and, finally, 
two rivers and a lake complete a panorama unique in its beauty 
and grandeur. The impression produced by this landscape 
on the poet-emperor Kienlung is preserved in an autograph 
poem graven on a rock at the entrance. 

" Why have I scaled these misty heights? 
Why sought this mountain den? 
I tread as on enchanted ground, 
Unlike the abode of men. 

" Weird voices in the trees I hear, 
Weird visions see in air ; 
The whispering pines are living harps, 
And fairy hands are there. 

" Beneath my feet my realm I see, 
As in a map unrolled ; 
Above my head a canopy 

Bedecked with clouds of gold." 

This is not bad to come from a crowned head, for poetry, 
like mountain flora, deteriorates at great altitudes. Better are 
the thoughts of nameless bards whose chance effusions I have 
endeavored to gather up in the following hues : 

TO PEARL GROTTO 

" On yonder rock a monarch great 
Extols thy scenery sublime ; 
And poets of a humbler state 

Scrawl here and there their homely rhyme. 



2 26 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

" ' I lift my hand,' says one, ' and graze 

Apollo's crown of golden light ; 

Downward I cast my eyes and gaze 

On eagles in their airy flight.' 

" * Yon boundless plain,' a second says, 
' With countless peaks on either hand, 
The vastness of the globe displays. 

And, with the view, my thoughts expand.' 

** * My panting steed,' another writes, 

* Has brought me to this mountain shrine; 
And, while I tread these dizzy heights, 

A thousand worlds above me shine.' 

" The glittering roofs of Cambalu,* 

Encompassed by its massive walls, 
To me arrest the roving view — 
I stoop to count its palace halls. 

" There, on the bosom of the plain, 

Gleams, like a gem, an azure lake ; 

While silvery lines show rivers twain. 

That devious courses seaward take. 

" What wonder that in such a spot 
The view should poetry inspire. 
When passing clouds around this grot 
Tip all these flinty rocks with fire!" 

Chinese Buddhism displays very Httle originality in the style 
of its architecture ; one type runs through all its gradations, 
varied only by the necessity of the situation or by limitation 
of extent. A gateway adorned with four huge idols of fright- 
ful mien— supposed literally to scare away evil spirits — opens 
into a paved court, with a long building of one story resting 
on massive pillars of wood in front, and lower buildings extend- 
ing Hke wings on either hand. This quadrangle is followed by 

* The Tartar name for Peking. 




w 






~ie^- 




f^^-M ^^«. 



?. 









'^'-m^ 






<->' 



r 



#?S3F 




REMOVAL TO PEKING 227 

another exactly similar, and that again by a third, the series 
often extending to six or seven. Of the transverse halls the 
loftiest is set apart for the " three precious ones," the Buddhist 
trinity,* and the others for lesser lights in the Buddhist pan- 
theon. The side rooms are used for lodgings for the priest- 
hood and temple servants, additional courts outside of this 
parallelogram or echelon being provided for guests. 

Nearly all the temples have two flag-masts in front of the gate. 
The more magnificent have a drum-tower and a bell-tower, 
with sometimes a pagoda ; and in the vicinity of Peking apart- 
ments styled a " traveling palace," for the use of the emperor, 
which, however, his Majesty does not visit oftener than once 
in a century. The pagoda is not a necessary adjunct, as it 
sometimes beautifies a landscape or occupies a commanding 
view without the presence of a temple, being supposed to shield 
a neighborhood from malign influences. 

Theoretically contemplative, pious, and virtuous, as a mat- 
ter of fact most of these bonzes, or monks, are lazy, ignorant, 
and immoral. As such they are unsparingly satirized in Chi- 
nese popular hterature. Nor is their state of decadence to be 
wondered at ; for they are not drawn to the cloister by a spirit- 
ual impulse, but adopted as apprentices to a trade. This 
consists in the chanting of prayers, partly or wholly in an un- 
known tongue, the written Chinese being to most of them no 
less strange than the Pali. The ritual once learned by rote, 
they have little temptation to make further progress in know- 
ledge. Their libraries, some of them very large, are covered 
with dust and seldom exposed to view, excepting a few sacred 
books arranged on a horizontal wheel, on which to turn them 
around like a praying-machine is deemed an act of merit. 

* The Buddhist trinity is Fo, Fa, Seng (*' Buddha, tlie law, and the 
priesthood "). It is not a trinity of persons, yet it is represented by three 
images, commonly explained as the Buddhas of the "past, present, and 
future." 



228 



A CYCLE OF CATHAY 



The " wheel of the law " is a metaphor for the doctrines of 
Buddha. 

The ranks of the bonzes are recruited chiefly from the poor 
and destitute, but instances are not rare of criminals taking 
refuge among them and paying handsomely for the privilege 
of asylum ; when, with shaven head and changed name, their 
detection becomes a matter of difficulty. The common esti- 
mate of these priests and their votaries is expressed in a well- 
known Chinese fable : " ' My child,' said an old mouse, ' don't 




A BUDDHIST ABBOT. 



go near the cat.' ' Why, mama ? ' inquired the little one. 
' She has become religious : I have seen her shutting her eyes 
and saying her prayers.' " So gentle and inoffensive was an 
old priest at Pearl Grotto that I had come to regard him as a 



REMOVAL TO PEKING 229 

model of virtue, when, one day, a cow broke into his melon- 
patch and trampled all his virtues in the dust. With every 
stone he threw he launched a volley of filthy epithets such as 
made my ears tingle. If " out of the abundance of the heart 
the mouth speaketh," how far is he from the hoHness he simu- 
lates! . Another priest I heard cursing a street-lamp. He was 
drunk, which for him is a sorry excuse ; but I was tempted to 
suspect that he "hated the light because his deeds were evil." 
While I have met with some who may be described as intelli- 
gent, devout, and orderly, of the great majority of these priests 
it is no libel to say that they are quite the reverse. 

The philosophy of the Buddhists, like that of the Stoics, has 
for its aim to protect the soul from suffering rather than to arm 
it for conflict with moral evil. Their method consists in a 
course of mental discipline, involving an elaborate system of 
metaphysics and a comparatively pure code of morals. De- 
signed not to hold the passions in check, but to extirpate desire, 
the spirit of their discipline is not aggressive, but repressive. 
Their ideal is light without heat, Buddha being the acme of 
intelligence. Their idea of a perfect world would be, if they 
possessed such a cosmical conception, a sun too remote to 
exert any controlling force, and with too little warmth to raise 
a breeze or to melt the ice on its surface — a world, in short, 
in which nothing noxious can flourish, nor, it may be added, 
anything beautiful or good. 



CHAPTER II 



FIRST YEARS IN PEKING 



War averted — International law introduced— A school opened — Odd no- 
tions of natural philosophy — Church and mission— Queer converts 

WHILE looking for a house in the city I spent the sum- 
mer with my family in a temple three miles outside of 
the west gate. In one of the courts were two fine cedars, 
which attracted the eyes of officials engaged in repairing a 
palace. They wished them for pillars, and were about to cut 
them down when the priests begged me to intercede. In 
pleading for the trees I quoted an ancient poem beginning, 

" IH ft' kan tang, Pii tsicn pii fa,'''' 

which answers hterally to " Woodman, spare that tree." The 
officials were much struck with this classic fragment in the 
mouth of a "barbarian," and promised to spare the trees; yet 
a few days later, when I was absent, they sent and felled them. 
In the autumn I succeeded in securing eligible premises, 
with space for school and chapel, near the Tsungli Yamen, in 
the southeastern angle of the Tartar city. The previous occu- 
pant was a mandarin with four wives. We got the place cheap 
because one of them had hanged herself there. A mandarin 
of my acquaintance had six wives ; I never heard that any of 
them committed suicide, but they did tear each other's hair. 
In such cases, he said, he always turned on them the hose of 

230 



FIRS 7' YEARS IN PEKING 231. 

a force-pump. The floors of our house were paved with tiles, 
wooden floors being a luxury unknown to northern Chinese, 
who, sensibly enough, carry a small floor attached to their feet 
in the shape of thick soles made of compressed cloth. For 
us, however, the tiles were cold comfort, and while they were 
being replaced by planks we hved in one of the wings, a pair 
of which are provided for every respectable dwelling. 

One morning in October Mr. BurHngame came in with grave 
concern depicted on his usually bright and cheerful face. He 
informed us that, a serious difference having arisen between the 
British minister and the Chinese government, the former had 
struck his flag and broken off communications, adding that we 
might be compelled to quit Peking at an hour's notice. We 
had seen the war renewed in 1859 by this same minister, on 
grounds which, in the eyes of many of his own countrymeUj 
were utterly inadequate. We now supposed that he was seek- 
ing an occasion for a fresh rupture. 

The dispute was concerning the disposition of a fleet of 
seven gunboats purchased for the Chinese in England by Mr. 
Lay, inspector-general of customs. Intended to operate against 
the rebels on the Great River and neighboring sea-coast, they 
arrived too late for that particular service, Gordon's victories 
having so far broken the rebel power that the reduction of 
Nanking, their first and last stronghold, was only a question 
of time. Had they been required they could hardly have 
been used in those waters, as Commodore Osborne refused to 
take orders from provincial authorities, showing an agreement 
that he should be bound by nothing that was not countersigned 
by Mr. Lay. 

That gentleman's " presumption," as they called it, in mak- 
ing himself master of the new force was greatly resented by 
the Chinese ministers. Their dissatisfaction was increased at 
finding that they were saddled with an expenditure of seventy 
thousand ounces of ^Wve^r perine7isem, which to them, in the low 



232 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

State of their finances, appeared an enormous tax for a super- 
fluous, if not dangerous, armada. When they addressed them- 
selves to the British minister, complaining of Mr. Lay for 
having exceeded his powers, and expressing a determination to 
dismiss him and the fleet together, Sir Frederick Bruce warmly 
espoused Lay's cause. They refused to recede and he refused 
to consent. It was the " Arrow " case with variations and with 
improved prospects for a first-class conflagration. Happily 
there was a peacemaker on the ground. The Chinese laid 
their grievance before Mr. Burlingame, who, being a man of 
tact and ability, succeeded in warding off the danger. 

Wensiang solemnly assured him that " sooner than submit to 
having the fleet forced on them, the Manchu government would 
retire beyond the Great Wall." He accordingly brought the 
question in all its gravity before Sir F. Bruce, and after three 
days of discussion the latter abandoned his position. Pacing 
the floor near midnight in the United States legation, he sud- 
denly exclaimed, "The fleet may go." The crisis was passed. 
Details were easily arranged. The ships were sent to India 
and sold, and Mr. Hart, who had acted as locum te7ie?is in Mr. 
Lay's absence, was installed in his place. 

The dismissal of the fleet was a backward step, since its en- 
gagement had justly been regarded as a measure full of hope 
for the cause of progress, certain to compel the opening of 
mines and the estabhshment of schools of science. At the 
same time, being manned and commanded by Enghshmen, it 
would contribute to keep the paw of the lion on the gateways 
of China. It is easy to see why Bruce was reluctant to part 
with it. That he consented to do so, all due allowance being 
made for Burlingame's powers of persuasion, was no doubt 
owing to a dread of facing the responsibility of another war. 
Instead of being, as generally supposed, a bellicose meddler, 
he was by nature indolent and peace-loving, endowed with 
much good sense, and not indifferent to the claims of justice. 



FIRST YEARS IN PEKING 233 

The rejection of the flotilla is but one of several instances 
which show the animus of the Chinese in regard to all the ap- 
pliances of Western civilization. To their eyes it is synonymous 
with steamer, telegraph, and railway. A year or two previous 
the first wire in the empire had been stretched from Shanghai 
to Woosung by an English merchant. It was demolished by a 
mob, with the connivance of the authorities, who dreaded any 
extension of Enghsh power or influence. A year or two later 
the first railway was opened at Shanghai by an English com- 
pany, under a concession for a tramway. Finding no other 
way to check the innovation, the Chinese authorities purchased 
the plant and promptly destroyed it. Yet all these accompani- 
ments of civilization were subsequently introduced under the 
pressure of war, actual or imminent. In less than a decade 
China was spending millions in the purchase of warships as a 
defense against the growing navy of Japan. Her first tele- 
graphs were built in Formosa to supply quick intelligence of 
Japanese military movements ; her first considerable railway, 
that from Tientsin to the northeast, was undertaken in a sort 
of panic occasioned by the Siberian railway scheme of Russia. 
The Chinese accept no new force which they are unable to con- 
trol; nor do they adopt it at all until they are compelled to 
do so by the logic of events. 

In November Mr. Burlingame introduced me to the Tsungli 
Yamen, with several members of which I had become ac- 
quainted during our treaty negotiations in 1858. The Chinese 
ministers expressed much pleasure when I laid on the table 
my unfinished version of Wheaton, though they knew but 
httle of its nature or contents. " Does it contain the ' twenty- 
four sections ' ? " asked Wensiang, refemng to a selection of 
important passages made for them by Mr. Hart. Being told 
something of the extent and scope of the work, he added : 
"This will be our guide when we send ministers to foreign 
countries." The translation, I explained, was not complete, 



234 ^ CYCLE OF CATHAY 

but I intended to finish it without delay. All I asked of 
them was to appoint a competent official to assist me in a final 
revision, and then to print it at pubhc expense. " You will, 
of course, give me a decoration for it. I ask no other pay." 
They paid me in due time with substantial appointments, much 
better than empty honors, and titles and decorations were not 
forgotten. 

A commission of four — all of high Hterary grade, one a 
member of the Hanlin Academy — was appointed by Prince 
Kung to aid me in the revision. This was done at the Yamen, 
and at the suggestion of Mr. Hart, the new inspector-general, 
the work was printed for the use of the government. 

The enlightened spirit which had led Mr. Hart to make a 
selection of passages I have already referred to. As he had 
left Peking without seeing me, shortly after my arrival, he 
wrote me a letter from Tientsin, expressing pleasure at learn- 
ing my intention to translate Wheaton, encouraging me to 
go on with the task, and assuring me that it would be well re- 
ceived by the Tsungli Yamen. 

Very different was the impression which my undertaking 
made on M. Klecskowsky, the French charge d'affaires. He 
said to Mr. Burlingame : " Who is this man who is going to 
give the Chinese an insight into our Em-opean international 
law? Kill him — choke him off; he'll make us endless trou- 
ble." Sir Frederick Bruce, on the contrary, when I spoke to 
him of my purpose, offered to do all in his power to further it. 
"The work would do good," he said, "by showing the Chi- 
nese that the nations of the West have taoli [" principles "] by 
which they are guided, and that force is not their only law." 

The book was promptly reprinted in Japan, and Sir Harry 
Parkes, then minister at Yedo, sent me a copy of the first 
Japanese edition, with an expression of sympathy in my efforts 
to introduce the science. A similar diversity of feeling on the 
subject existed among the Chinese, some regarding the work 



FIRST YEARS IN PEKING 235 

with suspicion, as the Trojans did the gifts of the Greeks. 
Burhngame accepted the dedication, and gloried in contribut- 
ing something toward the introduction of international law 
into China. 

With the help of my students, I have since given the Chi- 
nese translations of De Martens' " Guide Diplomatique," 
Woolsey's " Elements of International Law," Bluntschli's 
" Volkerrecht," and last, not least, a manual of the laws of 
war compiled by the European Institute of International Law. 
Most of these have been reprinted in Japan ; and nothing ad- 
ditional on the subject of the law of nations has, so far as I 
am aware, been rendered into the language of either empire. 

By some it may be taken as evidence of China's backward- 
ness that for this as for other sciences she is wholly indebted to 
importations from the West. But is it strange that an empire 
which for two thousand years had no neighbors, only vassals, 
should be without the conception of a code controlling the in- 
tercourse of equal nations? The fact is, that in ancient times, 
when her vast territory was covered by a system of virtually 
independent states, she did possess a rudimentary code, which 
was made obsolete by their extinction. 

The establishment of a school for the education of preach- 
ers, physicians, and engineers was a leading object in my re- 
moval to Peking. A plan for such an institution I had sub- 
mitted to Dr. Lowrie, Secretary of the Board of Missions, but 
no action was taken in regard to it further than the publica- 
tion of the paper in the '' Home and Foreign Record." Show- 
ing this paper to Mr. Hart without adding a word in the way 
of solicitation, I was agreeably surprised by the offer of 1500 
taels per annum from a government fund. The first year I 
spent 900 taels, the next 600, and the third only 500, barely 
one third of the sum offered, the diflficulty of getting students 
from good families leading me to limit the scale of my opera- 
tions. The best result of that half-abortive enterprise was the 



236 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

preparation of a book on natural philosophy. In mathematics 
and astronomy the Jesuits, for two centuries in the service of 
the government, had done much, but in this department little 
or nothing, beyond imparting a few elementary notions of 
mechanics. How could they do more? Every branch of the 
physical sciences has been born or metamorphosed since their 
day. 

As soon as my hands were free from my first text-book of 
public law, I set about the preparation of a text-book on 
natural philosophy. The need of it was imperative. The sys- 
tem of state education had for ages been confined to belles- 
lettres, ethics, and politics. The highest scholars knew no 
more why a stone falls to the ground or why water rises in a 
pump than did those of Europe before Newton and Torricelli. 
With them levity is a force as real as gravity ; cold and dark- 
ness no less than hght and heat. They find a ready expla- 
nation for all phenomena in the " play of dual forces " ; Yifi 
yafi^i^ kiao ka?i is a formula as good to hide ignorance as 
many a phrase in vogue with us. Their chemistry has not 
emerged from the chrysalis of alchemy. They count five ele- 
ments instead of our ancient four — metal being added, and 
wood taking the place of air, which is omitted as too subtile 
to suit their idea of substance. 

A volume would be needed to show how all kinds of errors 
in philosophy, religion, and politics hide behind these "dual 
forces" and "five elements." Even such practical matters 
as the building of a house, the opening of a mine, or the con- 
struction of a road, are controlled by the rules of a false sci- 
ence, called fu?tgshui, or geomancy. The power that shakes 
these pillars will bring down the whole edifice of superstition. 
It is not a bhnd Samson that can do it, but science with her 
eyes open. Hence the emphasis I lay on scientific education 
and the time I devoted to a text-book on natural philosophy. 
It cost me two years of work ; and on the application of Mr. 



FIRST YEARS IN PEKING 



237 



Hart, to whom it was dedicated, it was printed at government 
expense, in seven thin volumes, the last giving elementary 
notions of chemistry, which till then had wanted a name. 
After the lapse of thirty years this book is not superseded, a 
revised edition having been recently printed. In the same hne 
I subsequently prepared a work of equal extent on the applica- 
tions of mathematics to physics. My " Natural Philosophy " 
has had the honor of being laid before the emperor, and a spe- 
cial edition has been struck off /// tisum Augusti — ten copies, 
required for his august eyes, being bound in yellow satin. It 
has also been reprinted in Japan, with the addition of a com- 
mentary. 

In the oversight of my school, and especially in the con- 
duct of two chapels, I was efficiently seconded by Mr. Tsao, 
a worthy preacher (not ordained), who was converted while 
teaching me Mandarin 
at Ningpo. Honest and 
truthful beyond most of 
his race, he had a weak- 
ness for strong drink that 
often got him into trou- 
ble. He was also given 
to fits of anger, which 
realized its definition as 
furor b rev is. One Sun- 
day morning, hearing a 
great "row" in theschool, 
I ran in and saw the larg- 
est bovcowerino' in a cor- ^ schoolmaster; one pupil reciting with back 

J h> '^^ to THE TABLE, AND one DOING PENANCE. 

ner and crying bitterly, 

while Tsao, then acting as teacher, stood over him, cudgel in 
hand, fire in his face, and no doubt fire-water in his stomach. 
When he explained that he had detected the lad buying a bis- 
cuit on the street I remarked that he might have found a better 




238 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

way to show his zeal for the Lord's day ; that " the Sabbath 
was made for man, not man for the Sabbath," and that such 
an ebulhtion of rage was a worse offense than the purchase of 
a cake or the plucking of an ear of barley. 

There were several Protestant missions at work, but they 
mostly began by opening chapels on lanes and alleys rather 
than on the great streets. Wensiang, the most influential man 
in Peking, and frequently called prime minister, expressed 
some concern at hearing of the crowds that frequented the 
chapels, lest a riot might occur. Inviting me to a special in- 
terview, he charged me with a message to the other mission- 
aries, warning them to proceed cautiously, to avoid provoking 
opposition, and to keep their operations somewhat in the back- 
ground. By that means the people would gradually get ac- 
customed to seeing foreigners and hearing their preaching ; 
there would then be no danger. I faithfully reported his ad- 
vice, which was sound and well meant ; but it did not hinder 
me from securing a good position for a chapel on a great 
street near one of the city gates. In the meantime a small 
church was organized by me with a membership as varied as 
the occupants of the Cave of Adullam. They came seeking 
admission from all motives but the right one. Most of them 
were miserably poor, though at the same time highly respect- 
able, so far as rank was concerned. One of the first, who 
died early, had been an officer of some mark in Kashgaria. 
Another, who also died soon, claimed close kindred with a 
defunct viceroy. I had much satisfaction in seeing them die, 
for I felt that they were then safe from backsliding. 

When the kinsman of the viceroy died I observed an aged 
church-member weeping as the coffin passed out of the chapel. 
" Was the deceased a friend or relative of yours? " I inquired. 
" Neither," rephed the old man. '' Why, then, do you weep? " 
" I weep," he said, " to think that when I die I shall not have 
so fine a coffin." A characteristic absence of altruism, Mr. 



FIRST YEARS IN PEKING 239 

Smith* would call this; but we must not make too much of 
an isolated instance. 

An ex-official was recommended for baptism by the Rev. 
William Burns, who, like St. Paul, felt called to preach, not 
to baptize. " I have always had a liking for you foreigners," 
he said. 

"Why so?" I asked. 

" Because I have had a good deal to do with providing ac- 
commodations for embassies from foreign states." 

" Which, for instance? " 

*' Hami ; I was made to suffer for my kindness to them." 

Now Hami is a small Mohammedan principality on the 
borders of Turkestan. That was his idea of '* foreigners." 
The " kindness " he had suffered for was peculation. One day 
while waiting to see me he dropped on his knees and appeared 
to be engaged in silent prayer, having taken pains not to " shut 
the door," knowing that I was coming. On rising he asked me 
for a loan of fifty taels, and being refused took revenge by try- 
ing to drive all the sheep out of the fold. He showed them the 
old edicts against Christianity, and some of them were greatly 
alarmed. 

One of our most promising members was a young man 
of good talents and good education, whose father had been 
imperial commissioner in Tibet. The poor fellow died a 
victim to opium. In Peking most missionaries have had at 
the outset a similar experience ; but, notwithstanding the mul- 
titude of underpaid officials and starving stipendiaries who 
sought admission, the churches have grown in character as 
well as in membership. 

The Rev. William Burns, having no permanent station, spent 
a few years in Peking. He hved near our house, hiring a 
cabin for forty cents per month, and Hmiting his expense for 

* Author of " Chinese Characteristics " (Fleming H. Revell Co.). 



240 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

food to five cents per diem. He was a constant attendant at 
my chapel, and once a week got a good meal at our house. 
Of more talent than judgment, he wasted his energies by wan- 
dering about— though it must be admitted that he accomplished 
much good in certain places, especially in quickening the spir- 
itual life of the missionary body. Liberal in the way of char- 
ity, he was personally as abstemious as an anchorite, and when 
he died at Niuchuang the doctors ascribed his death to poor 
living. He is one of the first saints in the missionary calendar. 

Most societies have taken care, perhaps on account of the 
difficulty of the language, to send to China men of respectable 
abilities and education; yet those whom they intrusted with 
the responsibility of founding missions in the capital were 
much above the average. Not to speak of any who arrived 
later than 1863, Burdon, of the English Church Mission, and 
Schereschewsky, of the American Episcopal, were subsequently 
raised to the bishopric, and both have proved that they were 
worthy of the dignity. Edkins, of the London Mission, and 
Blodget, of the American Board, were unmitered bishops, the 
former eminent as a sinologue, the latter noted as a man in 
whom nature, grace, and culture combined to form a model 
missionary. 

For heroic self-denial the following incident is worthy of 
record. Mrs. Blodget had been sent home from Shanghai to 
snatch her from an early grave. For four years her husband 
stuck to his lonely post, quitting it for home only when com- 
pelled by the diseases of the climate. At Yokohama, hearing 
of the capture of Peking and the opening of Tientsin, he turned 
his back on wife and children and all the tempting visions of 
home, sought in North China the change required by his health, 
and founded a mission at the seaport and one at the capital ; 
nor did he resume his intended voyage until five years later, 
when health again made it imperative. 

In 1868, being called to a professorship of international law 



FIRST YEARS IN PEKING 



241 



m the new government college, I committed the interests of 
the mission to other hands, and went home for special studies 
prior to entering on the duties of my chair. My return to 
China was hastened by a letter from Mr. Hart informing me 
that the Chinese authorities were dissatisfied with the working 
of the college ; in fact, that it was hkely to be disbanded. I 
wrote in reply that I was not discouraged by the prospect — 
that even if extinct it might be resuscitated, or " if reduced to 
a vanishing-point it might be integrated to its full value." 




THE PEKING WATERWORKS. 



CHAPTER III 

THE GREAT WALL AND SACRED PLACES OF PEKING 

Altar of heaven — Lama temple — Bridge in palace grounds — Mosque and 
pavilion— The Yellow Temple — Great liell of Peking — Tombs of 
Ming emperors — Hot Springs — Grand Pass and Great Wall — Sketch 
of history — The empress dowager 

A RESIDENT has no need to be in a hurry to see the 
sights of his own locah'ty unless, as in Peking, there is 
danger of the show being shut up. Objects of rare interest 
that were formerly open to all the world are accessible no 
longer. Imperial temples and imperial pleasure-grounds are 
withdrawn from the public eye, leaving scarcely anything to 
make the place worth the trouble of a visit. Not that the gov- 
ernment has grown less liberal, but because in the early years, 
after the debacle of 1 860, there was a minority reign, under which 
nobody thought it necessary to restore the ancient restrictions. 
The attainment of his majority, when the emperor was ex- 
pected to visit all these places, was the signal for shutting out 
the rest of mankind. No longer can a student of comparative 
religion, who has visited the sacred places of other creeds, be 
admitted to the Temple of Heaven, the scene of the most 
ancient ritual now observed on the face of the earth. The sun 
in his course looks on nothing built with hands so subhme in 
its suggestions as the Ara Coeli of Peking. Acres of polished 
marble, rising from all sides by flights of steps, culminate in a 
circular terrace, whose roof is the vault of heaven. The divin- 
ity there worshiped is the Ruler of the universe, and the priest 

242 



GREAT WALL AND SACRED PLACES 243 

who officiates is the sovereign of the empire. Like Melchize- 
dek of old, he is priest of the most high God, with whom he 
intercedes on behalf of his people, and to whom he offers an ox 
as a burnt-offering in acknowledgment of delegated authority. 
The cults of Buddha and Tao are of yesterday in comparison 
with this venerable relic of a purer faith, wliich in China has 
behind it a record of forty centuries. 

Dr. Legge, the eminent missionary, before climbing the steps 
of this altar heard a small, still voice, which others might have 
heard had they but hearkened, saying : " Put off thy shoes ; for 
the place whereon thou standest is holy ground." The students 
in the British legation, less reverent, were for years wont to 
play cricket in its shady groves, which are so extensive as to 
interpose a belt of silence between the altar and the busy city. 









THE EMPEROR AT THE PLOW, 



Equally invisible is the Temple of Agriculture, where the 
emperor honors the memory of the man who broke the spell 
of barbarism by teaching mankind to get their living from the 
soil, and where he does homage to husbandry by appearing in 
the character of a plowman. 

On the opposite side of the city, in accordance with Chinese 



244 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

notions of symmetry, stands an altar to Mother Earth; it is 
square because the earth has four corners. 

Less to be regretted is exclusion from the Grand Lamasery, 
where of yore our student of comparative religion might freely 
apply his tape-line to the great Buddha to ascertain its place 
in the scale of divine magnitudes ; where he might sometimes 
catch a glimpse of a living Buddha, and hear Htanies chanted 
in the Tibetan tongue. Here twelve hundred lazy monks, 
filthy and vicious, are housed in the palace of a prince, who, 
on coming to the throne, gave them his dwelling and ordered 
them to be fed at his expense. So greedy are these recluses, 
whose first law is self-abnegation, and so indelicate is their 
mode of picking pockets, that a visitor always departed with 
the conviction that instead of visiting a house of prayer he had 
fallen into a den of thieves. 

More to be lamented than any of these, except the first, are 
the Marble Bridge in the grounds of the city palace and the Hill 
of Longevity at the country palace. From the former the tour- 
ist could take in at a glance a scene of marvelous beauty — two 
" seas," whose shores are fringed with the airiest forms of Ori- 
ental architecture. From the latter he looked down on a charm- 
ing lake and around on ruins of sumptuous edifices wrecked by 
Anglo-Gallic vengeance. In each of these picturesque spots 
the Dowager Empress Tzehi has built a palace for herself. 
To gratify her desire for privacy a central thoroughfare was 
closed, the people of the one side being obliged to make half 
the circuit of the city to reach the other. For her alone the 
lotus is to bloom ; and for her, pagoda and pavilion mirror 
themselves in the placid waters. What matters it to her if the 
finest views are wiped from the map of the capital? What 
does she care if the disappointed tourist does go away lament- 
ing that he was born too late — or perhaps too early, say a 
trifle in advance of the adoption of regulations like those that 
open to the public the abbeys and palaces of England? 



GREAT WALL AND SACRED PLACES 245 

Even the city wall suffers from an intermittent prohibition. 
I once heard a Chinese minister discourse to Mr. Burlingame 
of the change that had come over foreign life in China. 
" Formerly," said he, " you foreigners were oppressed, but now 
you enjoy more privileges than the natives. P'or instance, no 
woman is allowed to walk on the city wall, but we know that 
where you go your wives must. Your ladies make it a prom- 
enade, and we say nothing about it." 

While Hengki hved there was no question of access to the 
wall ; but when the office of vice-governor fell to another, an 
order was posted at all the guard-houses, saying : " Foreigners 
have been seen walking on the wall and studying the topog- 
raphy of the city, a practice not on any account to be per- 
mitted." To me this was not pleasant reading, but to most for- 
eigners it meant nothing ; and to the guards it only meant that 
they might demand a larger douceur for opening the stairways. 

Near the southwestern angle of the palace grounds stands 
a celebrated mosque, now falling to decay, and on the op- 
posite side of the street, overtopping the palace walls, is seen 
the yellow roof of a pavilion, which must have been magnifi- 
cent in its better days. These are connected with each other 
by a popular legend, which I here insert in a versified form. 
The name of the pavilion, Wang-kia-lo (the " Homeward 
View"), and a colony of the faithful who still speak Turkish, 
the descendants of retainers who came with the Mohammedan 
princess, may be taken as vouchers for its substantial truth. It 
dates from the reign of Kienlung, a.d. 1736. 

" From wars in the West the monarch returning, 
His new-gotten treasures in triumph displayed ; 
The fairest and brightest— 'twas easy discerning, 
Admired by all — was Almanna the Maid. 

" Her eyes the soft luster of daybreak disclose ; 

Her blush — it surpasses the peach-blossom's glow ; 



246 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

Her motions are grace, and grace her repose ; 
Her color eclipses the lily of snow. 

" Let dames die of envy, let monarch adore, 

Yet in secret distress fair Almanna repines — 
The canker consuming the sweet flower's core 
The sharp-sighted monarch full quickly divines. 

" The glitter of images palls on her sight, 
The din of idolatry deafens her ears ; 
No face of a kinsman to give her delight. 
No altar of Allah to quiet her fears. 

" A lofty pavilion of splendor divine, 

O'erlooking a mosque of the faithful, he makes ; 
With garden and terrace of Persian design. 

With fountains and streams and cool shady lakes. 

" ' Here, lovely Almanna, the pride of my eyes. 

Here welcome thy kin, not again to depart ; 

Be no more a stranger, here banish thy sighs ; 

For the shrine of thy God is the home of thy heart.' 

" Almanna looks up with a joy-beaming face; 

From that day and onward no creature so blest — 
Restored to her God and restored to her race — 
As the lady Almanna, the Maid of the West." 

The Temple of Confucius we shall not pause to inspect, as 
we intend to make a special pilgrimage to the more famous 
shrine at the Sage's sepulcher. The Peking temple possesses, 
however, a noteworthy adjunct in an ancient " School for the 
Sons of the Empire," which we may see in passing. In this 
institution no teaching is done ; its fimctions consist in the en- 
rolment of candidates for the civil-service examination, and 
the registration of graduates. Its courts are studded with 
stone pillars, which, overshadowed by venerable cedars, pre- 
sent the appearance of a graveyard. They are inscribed with 
the names of those who have won the third or highest degree, 
and the list runs back for six centuries. In an adjacent court 



GREAT WALL AND SACRED PLACES 247 

Stands the " Hall of the Stone Classics," so called because 
in its spacious porticos are to be seen a hundred and seventy 
marble columns inscribed with the text of the Thirteen Ca- 
nonical Books— apparently as a precaution against the fury of 
another book-burner. To this hall the emperor is expected 
to come at least once in his reign, to hear a lecture on the 
duties of his station. 

Happily the Great Wall is not forbidden, though it might 
be on good grounds ; and visitors continue to carry away, not 
snail-shells, such as Dr. Johnson said he had seen, but speci- 
men bricks weighing a hundred pounds. When we visited the 
wall, we stowed our bedding in a cart and took donkeys from 
the city gate, that animal so despised within the walls being 
indispensable on country roads. The pass at Nankow, thirty 
miles to the northwest, we might have reached in one day had 
we not deviated from the highway to visit sundry objects of 
interest, such as the Yellow Temple, the Great Bell, the Hot 
Springs, and the Ming tombs. 

The Yellow Temple, not far beyond the city moat, is a 
lamasery, vast in extent, but, unlike the greater one already 
mentioned, it offers nothing of interest except a marble tope 
to commemorate the death of a living Buddha. This holy 
man, next in dignity to the Dalai lama, came from Tibet by 
invitation of the Emperor Kienlung, and died of smallpox. 
The base of the monument is belted with tableaux in low re- 
lief, representing the birth, death, and spiritual struggles of 
the saint. To the Mongols it is an object of great venera- 
tion, and they always perform a koto before it, hanging 
handkerchiefs on it in sign of special prayer or vow, although 
it covers only the fallen mantle of his saintship, his body hav- 
ing been carried back to Til^et. 

The religion of the lamas is Buddhism of a corrupt type, 
and prevails in Tibet and Mongolia. Its leading tenet is the 
reincarnation of Buddhist divinities in the person of those who 



248 



A CYCLE OF CATHAY 



are destined to exercise spiritual or civil power — a doctrine 
unknown to the orthodox. As its prayers are made by machi- 
nery, turned by wind or water as well as by hand, you would 
hardly expect it to exert an influence for good ; yet it seems to 
have made the Mongols less savage than the bloodthirsty fol- 
lowers of Genghis Khan, though it has not made them chaste, 
clean, or honest. 



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LAMA PRIEST, PRAYER WHEEL, AND IDOLS. 



The Great Bell, four or five miles farther on, is one of the 
wonders of the world. Cast about five centuries ago by order 
of Yunglo, the first Chinese emperor who fixed his throne in 
Peking, it weighs fifty-three and a half tons, and is covered 
within and without with extracts from the Buddhist canon. 



GREAT WALL AND SACRED PLACES 249 

Why it was made here, and why it has remained in retirement, 
it might require a knowledge of astrology to unriddle. There 
is, however, a greater bell between heaven and earth, that of 
Moscow, weighing eighty tons — a fact that may please the pride 
of some Christians. Connected with this Chinese monster is 
a touching legend, which I thus render : 

" As a bee builds up her waxen cell, 
Was built the mould for the giant bell ; 
Carved and pressed and polished well 
By the master's cunning hand. 

" Twice has he lost the toil of years ; 
And now he waits with anxious fears 
The junction of propitious spheres 
To speak his last command. 

" A lovely maid sits by his side — 
Her mother's joy, her father's pride ; 
One whom he hopes to see the bride 
Of a noble's eldest son. 

" As on the crane the caldron swings, 
Into its jaws the maiden springs, 
While back her little shoe she flings — 
And the arduous work is done. 

" To save her father from failure's shame, 
To win for her father a deathless name, 
She drowns herself in that sea of flame ; 
But the bell her soul retains. 

" For now with the great bell's dulcet tone 
There mingles low a plaintive moan — 
She calls for the slipper backward thrown, 
Wo hie* — her voice remains." 

In a vast amphitheater formed by converging hills, which 
are supposed to bring all good influences to a focus, repose the 
ashes of thirteen emperors of the last Chinese dynasty. The 

* My shoe. 



250 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

first was Yunglo, who rebuilt and beautified the city ; the last, 
Chungchen, who hanged himself when his capital fell into the 
hands of a rebel. It was to Li Chuang that the dynasty suc- 
cumbed, not to the Manchus, who, called in to avenge it, 
seated themselves on the vacant throne. Hence the respect- 
ful care taken of this noble cemetery, an official, said to be a 
scion of the ancient monarchs, being charged with the duty of 
ministering to their manes. Hence, also, the portal of their 
resting-place — all that now remains to them of their vast do- 
minions — is adorned by a dirge from the pen of the Emperor 
Kienlung. 

The mausolea are approached through ranks of colossal 
statues representing men and animals. That of Yunglo, who 
first removed the capital to the North, is far grander than the 
others — imposing alike by its proportions and severity of style. 
To have built it of stones quarried from the neighboring 
hills would have been comparatively inexpensive ; but it was 
thought necessary to import teak-wood from Siam, as Solomon 
imported cedar from Lebanon. Five hundred years has this 
wooden structure stood the storms, and it looks as if it might 
brave them for a thousand more. 

Tangshan, the hot spring, gives name and place to an impe- 
rial pleasance. Its buildings show no trace of Goth or Van- 
dal, but through sheer neglect they are falling into irretriev- 
able decay. The spring is a rift in the strata, through which 
rises a flood of almost boiling water, sufficient to supply half 
Peking if properly husbanded. Through want of enterprise it 
is wasted on the lakes and canals of a forsaken park. 

Spending a night at Nankow, we gave a day to exploring 
the pass. At three points the hand of man has reinforced 
the fortifications erected by nature, viz., at the two entrances, 
thirteen miles apart, and in the middle, where, in addition to 
gateway and walls, you see a famous inscription in six lan- 
guages, some of which are as dead as the Hittite. 



GREAT WALL AND SACRED PLACES 251 

At the farther entrance only do we get a view of the Great 
Wall, properly so called, and then it is but an angle or loop of 
that which for 1550 miles skirts the Mongohan plateau and 
forms the boundary of China proper. Imposing in the bold- 
ness with which it climbs the chffs, it grows subhme when 
you think of it as stretching from the sea of sand to the sea 
of salt. In some parts, however, it dwindles into a mere em- 
bankment of clay. 

The pass, formed by a fracture in the mountain chain and 
widened by the erosive action of a small river, resembles some 
of those canons seen on our Western railways, its grassy slopes 
winding with the stream and sprinkled with the snow of graz- 
ing flocks. 

As we were sauntering along, our eyes fixed on this scene 
of quiet beauty, a well-meaning native stopped to exchange 
greetings, adding, as he rode away, " There is nothing to be 
seen here, but go on a little farther and you may see an open- 
air theater and hear the song of a story-teller." 

To study the history of Egypt one should place himself on 
the top of the pyramids. To study the history of China there 
is no point of observation so favorable as the summit of the 
Great Wall. Erected midway between the hazy obscurity of 
early tradition and the restless age in which we live, it com- 
mands the whole of the moving panorama. So colossal as to 
form a geographical feature on the surface of the globe, its 
importance to us consists in its epoch rather than in its magni- 
tude. It is to this epoch that our attention will for a little be 
chiefly directed ; but from this vantage-ground we shall allow 
ourselves a few glances before and after, with the hope of con- 
veying some faint impression of the unity of Chinese history. 

Not long after the age when Alexander swept the chess- 
board of western Asia and combined its numerous national- 
ities into one empire, Chin-shi, the builder of the wall, did a 
hke work for the states of eastern Asia. These states consti- 



252 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

tuted the Chinese empire, a country which at that early period 
united the wealth of Persia with the culture of Greece. Nomi- 
nally under the sway of one imperial house, they had been for 
some hundreds of years virtually independent, adjusting their 
mutual relations and waging internecine wars without interfer- 
ence from their powerless suzerain. The builder of the Great 
Wall was preceded by three dynasties of long duration, viz., 
that of Hia, 2205-1766 b.c. ; that of Shang, 1 766-1 122 B.C.; 
that of Chow, 1122-255 B.C. 

Looking beyond the first of these, we perceive the golden 
glow of the morning of history. In the midst of its deceptive 
haze we discern two figures which the Chinese have agreed to 
accept as models of princely excellence. They are Yao and 
Shun, the Numa Pompilius and Tullus Hostilius of the rising 
state. The simplicity of that primitive society is the mother 
of virtues, public and private. In the state Yao sets the ex- 
ample of an unselfish ruler, and in the family Shun is a para- 
gon of filial sons. 

Holding that a prince exists for the good of his people, and 
sensible to the infirmities of age, Yao adopted Shun as his suc- 
cessor, his own son being unworthy of the throne. Shun 
adopted Yu for the same reason. Yu (or Ta Yu), though 
deemed a sage, did not continue the unselfish tradition, but, 
by transmitting the throne to his son, "made of the common- 
wealth a family estate," as the chroniclers say. The imperial 
dignity has remained hereditary, with a solitary vestige of the 
ancient ideal, viz., that the emperor has theoretically the power 
of naming his successor, and in fact makes the election irre- 
spective of primogeniture. 

In the reign of Chung-kang, the fourth in succession (2159- 
2146), occurred an eclipse of the sun, which Professor Russell, 
of the Imperial College, has succeeded in identifying after a 
laborious calculation of no fewer than thirty-six eclipses. Pro- 
fessor Knobel, of Cambridge, has also pronounced in favor of 



SKETCH OF CHINESE HISTORY 253 

the trustworthiness of these ancient records, on the gi-ound of 
astronomical data contained in a kind of calendar of the Hia 
dynasty, fragments of which have come down to our times. 

The area at that period comprehended within the empire 
was less than half of China proper, not a foot of territory on 
the south of the Yang-tse having been brought under its sway. 
The conquering tribe which formed its nucleus seem to have 
entered the valley of the Yellow River from the northwest, bring- 
ing with them some knowledge of letters, and the elements of a 
civilization which enabled them to overcome the savage races 
by whom the country was then occupied. Some they destroyed, 
others they absorbed ; and the process of growth and assimila- 
tion went on for ages, until those heterogeneous elements were 
moulded into one people, the most numerous on the face of the 
earth. 

This work of subjugation may be regarded as specially the 
task of the first dynasty, though it was not completed for ages, 
nor is it wholly complete at the present day. Under the sec- 
ond dynasty arose that feudal form of government which pre- 
vailed for more than a thousand years and came to an end in 
the epoch of the Great Wall. Of both, the records are exceed- 
ingly meager — scarcely extending beyond dynastic genealogy 
— the occupants of the throne, with a few brilliant exceptions, 
being so insignificant that their places in the succession are 
represented by numerals instead of names. 

While the invention of letters dates from a period anterior 
to the first dynasty, it was not until the third that literature be- 
came an important factor in human life. King Wen and Duke 
Chow, its founders, set an example of devotion to study, and 
later on cultured statesmen appeared, who strove to aggrandize 
their native states, and philosophers, who, with broader views, 
aimed at the reformation of the people. Of the latter class the 
most noted were Confucius (551-479 B.C.) and Mencius (372- 
289 B.C.), both of whom merit high rank among the teachers 



2 54 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

of mankind. Besides inculcating virtues of a noble type they 
sought by their doctrines to counteract the centrifugal tendency, 
which was a marked feature in the political movement of their 
day. They had never known anything better than the feudal 
system, and in their view the only cure for the disorders of the 
times was to restore it to its primitive purity — a state of things 
in which the vassal princes, to use the expression of Confucius, 
" revolved about the throne of Chow as the constellations re- 
volve around the pole of heaven." That system the builder 
of the wall was bent on eradicating ; hence his hostility to the 
Confucian school. 

Forsaken by its vassals or recognized under forms of mere 
empty ceremony, the house of Chow languished until 255 b.c. 
Occupying a district in Honan, which formed the special ap- 
panage of the imperial family, but for a long time exercising 
no control over its neighbors, and centrally situated, that dis- 
trict was described as Chung Kwo, the " Middle Kingdom," 
a designation which succeeding dynasties applied to the whole 
of their dominions. In this year (255 B.C.), provoked by the 
cabals which found a focus under the shadow of a venerable 
throne, Chao, the King of Chin, great-grandfather of the wall- 
builder, entered the imperial capital ; and the dynasty of Chow, 
the most famous in the annals of China, came to an end, after 
a duration of eight hundred and sixty-seven years. 

The conqueror now performed two acts which asserted his 
accession to the vacant suzerainty. The first was to remove 
to his own capital in Shensi nine tripods of brass, which repre- 
sented the nine districts of the empire, and were reverenced as 
the chief emblem of imperial power. The other was to offer 
a solemn sacrifice to S/ia?igti, the " Supreme Ruler," and to 
formally assume the character of high priest in conjunction 
with that of emperor— a twofold character which has always 
been recognized as belonging to the sovereigns of China. This 
king's ambition was to resuscitate the empire, not to revolu- 



SKETCH OF CHINESE HISTORY 255 

tionize its institutions. The vassals of Chow were his vassals, 
and submission, not abdication, was what he required. Enjoy- 
ing for five years a dignity to which his ancestors had aspired 
for many generations, he closed a prosperous reign of fifty- 
seven years. After two brief reigns, one of which had lasted 
only three days, his scepter was transferred to Cheng, his 
great-grandson, whom by anticipation we have styled Chin-shi, 
the builder of the Great Wall. 

The young king, then thirteen years of age, succeeded at 
once to two thrones — that of Chin, the domain of his fathers, 
and that of Chow, or the empire, which placed him on the 
highest pinnacle of dignity that any Chinese statesman had 
ever conceived. Was he satisfied with this double heritage? 
If he had been, is it not probable that the wheels of the new 
chariot would have been made to run in the old track? But 
to credit him with planning the tremendous revolution which 
he was destined to achieve would be to allow him a precocity 
and a genius unexampled in history. The king was fortunate in 
having for his guides two statesmen of rare originality ; but even 
they could not have conceived the entire program. They 
possessed the capacity to win in every conflict with his unruly 
vassals, and he (or his mother and grandmother, two remark- 
able women who acted as regents) always encouraged the bold 
measures of his chancellors. In all great revolutions the lead- 
ing minds are more than one, though some one usually comes 
to be acknowledged as the master spirit. In this the master 
spirit was Chin-shi, who proved his claim to the title by an 
eventful reign of forty years ; but his two chancellors bore each 
a leading part in recasting the destinies of the empire. One 
of these was Lii Pu-we, a merchant of Chao, the state with 
which Chin was most frequently at war. He had been to the 
young prince what Menchikoff was to Peter the Great ; and, 
to complete the parallel, the tongue of slander connected each 
in a similar manner with the elevation of an empress. Of his 



256 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

many services the most signal was to provide a worthy suc- 
cessor in the chancellorship. 

Endowed with consummate tact and sublime self-confidence, 
Li-sze was just the man required to convert a dynastic change 
into a social and political revolution. In sagacity and courage 
he was the Bismarck of his day ; and the task he had to per- 
form was not unlike that which fell to the lot of the eminent 
German— the consoHdation of the power of a new imperial 
house and the unification of a dissevered empire. As we shall 
see, he accomplished it with a thoroughness unattainable by 
the German chancellor. 

It cannot be affirmed that he was superior in talents to his 
predecessors in office, but he was happier than they in being 
called to play the last act in a long drama. Most of them had 
acted the part of innovators. One had changed the tenure of 
land, another had reformed the mode of collecting revenue, a 
third had remodeled the army ; and all, by introducing foreign 
methods and employing foreign agents, had drawn on them- 
selves the hostility of the natives, who were naturally jealous 
of foreign influence. The wave of opposition reached its height 
in the days of Li-sze, and a petition was laid before the throne 
demanding the expulsion of all foreigners. The premier was 
equal to the occasion. Recounting in a counter-memorial the 
great services rendered by his foreign predecessors, he showed 
how his enemies, to satisfy their petty spite, would force their 
country to abdicate its destiny. " The Tai-shan," he said, " is 
a great mountain because it does not spurn the grains of sand 
that add to its height. The Hoang-ho is a great river because 
it does not reject any rivulet that offers to swell its volume." 
He went on to apply these parallels with such force that he 
not only stemmed the tide of opposition for the time, but left 
on permanent record a masterly argument for the employment 
of men of all nations Avho are able to bring superior gifts to 
the service of the state. In that day " foreigners " were those 



SKETCH OF CHINESE HISTORY 257 

who lived on the opposite side of a river or of a mountain 
range; to-day the word means those who dwell beyond the 
ocean. The eloquent plea of Li-sze, even at this distance of 
time, has had some influence in preparing the reigning house 
to welcome foreigners, who by new arts and new sciences con- 
tribute to the well-being of the empire. 

When, in the twenty-sixth year of his reign, the emperor had 
destroyed the last of the hostile states, he resolved to signal- 
ize the event by changing the imperial title. Instead of Tien 
Wang (" Heaven-appointed King "), a title made venerable by 
the usage of nearly a thousand years, he substituted that of 
JIoang-H ("Autocratic Sovereign"), proudly prefixing the syl- 
lable S/ii ("the First"), that he might be remembered as the 
founder of a new order. The change of title implied a change 
of poHcy. This was nothing short of the complete abolition 
of the feudal system, a system consecrated by immemorial 
usage. When the hostile princes had been dethroned, two of 
his ministers besought him to install his own kindred in the 
forfeited dignities. Li-sze, being asked his opinion, replied 
that a "system which had brought about the destruction of 
the empire must itself be destroyed if the new empire was to 
be permanent." Instead of restoring the fallen powers under 
altered names, he recomxmended that their very boundaries 
should be obliterated, and that the whole empire should be 
divided into thirty-six provinces, whose governors should be 
appointed by the central throne and hold office for a limited 
term. His suggestions were adopted ; at the same time the 
new title was proclaimed, as expressive of the altered policy. 

If the overthrow of the rival principalities had cost centuries 
of conflict, the extirpation of their traditions was not hkely to 
be attended with less difficulty. The scholars of the Confucian 
•school were without exception devoted to the ancient regime, 
and plotted incessantly for its restoration. They deemed the 
feudal partition of the empire as sacred as a law of nature. 



258 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

The books, in which that order of things was consecrated, 
were, as Li-sze pointed out, sufficient to call it into existence 
again. To obviate that danger he proposed that they should 
be committed to the flames ; and so effectually was the order 
carried into execution that very few escaped. It was soon 
found that learned men, whose minds were stored with the 
ancient classics, were teaching them from memory ; they might 
at any time reproduce them in writing, and many of them were 
known to be active in sowing the seeds of dissension. " Away 
with them," said the tyrant, as we may fairly call him ; and four 
hundred and sixty of the most eminent were put to death, lest 
through them the old landmarks should be made to reappear 
on the new map of the empire. To the transformation effected 
by Chin-shi the unification of Italy offers a close parallel — the 
rise and growth of Sardinia answering to the rise and growth 
of Chin ; the incorporation of Naples, the duchies, and the 
Papal States corresponding to the abolition of the feudal prin- 
cipalities. The unceasing effort of the clergy to bring about the 
resuscitation of the temporal power completes the resemblance. 
Having, as he supposed, stamped out the embers of sedition 
within his dominions, the tyrant turned his attention to the 
dangers threatening his empire from without. On the west the 
mountains of Tibet formed a natural barrier ; on the south the 
river Yang-tse held back the barbarous tribes who inhabited 
its right bank ; on the east the sea was a safeguard, as the age 
of maritime warfare had not yet arrived ; but the north was a 
quarter from which the kings of Chin had learned to expect 
their most troublesome though not their most powerful ene- 
mies. A strange idea then came into the head of the autocrat 
— that of walling them out. This had been attempted before 
the states were united, but it was futile, as the discontent or 
negligence of a neighbor had always enabled an invader to 
enter by a flank movement. At this epoch he had no neigh- 
bors. The whole empire, from the desert to the sea, was his ; 



SKETCH OF CHINESE HISTORY 259 

and he resolved to construct a wall, not to supersede vigilance 
or valor, but to render them effectual in securing repose. A 
milhon of men were sent to the frontier, some laboring as 
masons, others serving as guards ; and in ten years' time the 
work was accomplished. 

Under the next dynasty a faint attempt was made to resus- 
citate the feudal states ; but, though then and later they were 
employed by political agitators as "names to conjure with," 
the system was dead. Its spirit was extinct. The people 
chose to be devoured by one lion rather than by a gang of 
jackals; and the sovereign, finding himself in possession of 
autocratic power, was loath to part with it. The system of 
centralization exists to this day ; and three monuments remain 
to remind all generations that Chin-shi was its author. These 
are: (i) the Great Wall of China, which he built; (2) the 
title Hoa7ig-ti for emperor, which he was the first to adopt ; 
(3) the name China, which is obviously derived from the house 
of Chin, which made itself famous by absorbing the other feu- 
dal states. Yet there is no man in Chinese history whose 
memory is execrated like that of Chin-shi. He is remembered 
as burner of books and butcher of scholars rather than as 
builder of the wall or founder of the empire. 

From the Great Wall, looking down the stream of time, we 
observe in the foreground the dynasty of Han ; and further 
away, in diminishing perspective, the numerous dynasties that 
have followed each other to the present day. Some have been 
brief, others partial in extent. Five of them have extended 
their sway over the whole of China, and held possession from 
one to three centuries. Each of these periods offers to the 
view some salient feature, something built into the framework 
of Chinese hfe, and forming a permanent addition to the in- 
heritance of the Chinese people. 

If the dynasty of Chin has the honor of giving to Cln'na the 
name by which it is known in other lands, that of Han (206 



26o A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

B.C.-203 A.D.) has bequeathed to the people the designation "by 
which they prefer to describe themselves. Nothing but widely 
extended sway, coupled with long duration and briUiant 
achievement, could have impressed them to such an extent as 
to make them proud to call themselves the "sons of Han." 
The Han period, which stretches over four hundred and sixty- 
nine years, is, as might be expected, pecuHarly rich in monu- 
ments of intellectual activity. It is emphatically an era of 
reconstruction, when the Chinese people, delivered from the 
anarchy of the " warring states," and emancipated from the 
tyranny of Chin, enter on a new career. Two things concur 
to make it forever memorable— the revival of letters, and the 
introduction of Buddhism. Amid the clash of arms and the 
strife of factions there had been small place for the cultivation 
of learning ; but when, after two or three turbulent reigns. Wen 
Ti, a pacific prince, found himself in undisputed possession 
(179 B.C.), a search was instituted for the lost books. One 
after another the missing works began to come from their hid- 
ing-places, and the high premium placed on lost literature 
naturally suggested its fabrication. Spurious classics appeared 
in great numbers. Some of them were works of genius, and 
posterity has thought fit to preserve them, though reposing no 
more confidence in their genuineness than we do in the poems 
of Ossian. The invention of paper by Tsailun in the second 
century B.C. also contributed greatly to the multiplication of 
books. It was itself a result of the revival of learning, which 
created a demand for cheaper writing materials. Till then silk 
or bamboo tablets had been in use. 

From the advent of the wall-builder, Taoism had been 
dominant and Confucianism under a cloud. By the revival of 
letters Confucianism was again raised to honor, without, how- 
ever, any immediate repression of the rival creed, which through- 
out the Han period continued to be, with occasional fluctua- 
tions, in great favor. In the year a.d. 67, under the Emperor 



SKETCH OF CHINESE HISTORY 261 

MingTi, the triad of religious creeds was completed by the intro- 
duction of Buddhism from India. The apostles of Buddhism 
had no doubt found their way to China at an earlier date, and 
by this time they had attracted sufficient attention to lead to an 
embassy in quest of competent teachers. Such an embassy 
was a natural outcome of the unsettled state of the Chinese 
mind, agitated by the contentions of rival schools of rehgious 
thought. The emperor is said to have been prompted to this 
measure by a dream, in which he saw an image of gold repre- 
senting a man with a bow and two arrows. In the Chinese 
name for Buddha the radical is man and the phonetic a bow 
and arrows. It is evident that the analysis of the character 
gave birth to this legend. It is curious to speculate what 
might have been the effect had Ming Ti's ambassadors gone 
farther west and met with disciples of the young and vigorous 
Christianity of that day. 

In the Tang dynasty (a.d. 618-905) poetry, which appeared 
in the rudest ages, attained its highest pitch of perfection — Li 
Po and Tu Fu being the Pope and Dryden of an age of poets. 
Chinese poetry comprehends every variety except the epic, 
whose place is filled by semi-poetical romances. The Chinese 
theater now secured for the first time the honor of imperial 
patronage ; a stage was erected in a pear-garden, whence ac- 
tors are still described as " children of the pear-garden." The 
Hanlin Yuan, or Imperial Academy, which crowns the culture 
of the whole empire, dates from this period, as does the art of 
printing, anticipating its discovery in Europe by at least half a 
millennium. The Sung dynasty (a.d. 960-1278) was marked 
by three things: (i) by the rise of speculative philosophy, the 
thinkers of that period being both acute and profound ; (2) by 
expositions of Chinese texts, the most noted expositor being 
Chu-Fu-tse, from whom it is heresy to dissent ; (3) by the 
reorganization of the civil-service examinations, which then 
received their final form. 



262 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

The Yuen, or Mongol, dynasty (a.d.i 260-1 341) is celebrated 
as the first dynasty of Tartar origin which succeeded in subju- 
gating the whole of China, though for two centuries previous 
the northern provinces had been under the sway of Tartars, 
in spite of the Great Wall erected to keep them out. The 
dominions of Kublai were probably more extensive than 
those of any monarch of ancient or modern times. The com- 
pletion by him of the Grand Canal, from Peking to Hang- 
chau, a distance of seven hundred miles, stands as a monument 
of enterprise alongside the Great Wall. 

The intellectual character of the Ming dynasty (a.d. 1368- 
1644) is chiefly marked by the formation of encyclopedic col- 
lections and the codification of the laws. During the troubles 
which preceded the overthrow of the Mings, the Manchus, 
originally an insignificant tribe of Tartars, made themselves 
masters of the region to the northeast of the Great Wall. 
Called in as auxiliaries by a general in charge of the pass, 
who, under pretense of avenging the death of his sovereign, 
veiled a private ambition, they seized the throne, and in 
seven years saw the whole empire at their feet. The celerity 
of their conquest was equaled by the wisdom of their govern- 
ment. By adopting the institutions of the conquered they 
minified the odium inseparable from a foreign domination and 
prolonged their tenure much beyond the average of Chinese 
dynasties. Among China's wisest rulers no one surpasses 
Kanghi (a.d. 1662-1723); nor among her empresses are there 
many to compare with the Dowager Tszehi, who, after a re- 
gency of nearly thirty years, is still the greatest power behind 
the throne. As a representative woman she deserves a fuller 
notice. A Manchu, and born of a noble house (the slave-girl 
story is a fiction), she was carefully educated — an advantage 
which in China falls to few of her sex, even of the noblest 
families. Becoming a secondary wife to the Emperor Hien- 
fung, she had the happiness to present him with an heir to the 



SKETCH OF CHINESE HISTORY 263 

throne. To signalize his joy he raised her to the rank of em- 
press, his childless consort retaining a nominal precedence and 
occupying a palace on the east, while to her was assigned, by 
way of distinction, a palace on the west. 

In the regency which on Hienfung's death the two ladies 
exercised in the name of their son she was the ruling spirit, as 
also in their second regency during the minority of her nephew, 
the present emperor. During the great famine in Shansi both 
ladies won the hearts of their subjects by a touching expression 
of sympathy, unsurpassed in the annals of any nation. Ascer- 
taining that the cost of the flesh-meats that came on their table 
was about seventy-five dollars per diem, they announced that 
they would eat no more meat while their people were starving, 
and ordered the amount saved by their self-denial to be turned 
over to the relief fund. It is not a little to their praise that 
they reigned together more harmoniously than the joint kings 
of Sparta or the joint emperors of Rome. 

Since the death of the eastern dowager, in 1880, the western 
has been more conspicuously absolute, though not more really 
powerful, than she was before. In the conflict with Japan she 
showed that her patriotism was equal to her humanity by pour- 
ing into the war-chest the milHons that had been collected for 
the celebration of her sixtieth anniversary. Her hair is. black 
(or was so), her eyes dark, her complexion suboUve, and her 
feet of the natural size. I may add, the better to enable the 
reader to remember her, that her full name is Tszehi Toanyu 
Kangi Chaoyu Chuangcheng Shokung Chinhien Chung- 

SIH. 

Under the Manchus the population has risen to more than 
nine times that of the Tang period, when it was only forty-five 
millions. The formation of encyclopedias and codifications, 
begun under the Mings, has been vigorously carried forward. 
Literary criticism is much cultivated, and the refinements of 
style are carried to a higher point than in any previous age. 



264 



A CYCLE OF CATHAY 



Another characteristic is the cultivation of Western science, 
which was introduced under the last rulers of the Ming, favored 
especially by the earlier sovereigns of the Tsing, and is now 
actively propagated in the developed form which it has attained 
in our day. Along with science came the Christian religion, 
and with it a spiritual force which is destined to effect a pro- 
found revolution in the inner life of the Chinese, 




TEMPLE ATTACHED TO THE ALTAR OF HEAVEN. (SEE PAGE 242.) 



CHAPTER IV 

VISIT TO A COLONY OF JEWS 

Rough vehicles— Primitive roads— Alarm-beacons — Hills and minerals — 
Wretched inns — People and cities — Moslems and Jews 

THE dust of China's greatest sage reposes near the place 
of his birth, at Kiu-fu, in the province of Shantung. Ten 
days would have sufficed to carry me to the sacred spot, but, 
as I desired first to visit an ancient colony of Jews in the 
province of Honan, I spent four weeks wandering through the 
heart of China before arriving there, and after exploring the 
Yellow River proceeded to Shanghai by way of the Grand 
Canal and the river Yang-tse. 

On the 2d of February, 1866, I set out from Peking on 
what was then a route untrodden by European feet ; but so 
few are the changes that have taken place in the interior of 
that most conservative of empires that my narrative is to-day 
as true to the life as if its date were of yesterday. No new 
canal has been excavated nor any railway constructed in that 
region, nor has anything been added to the information then 
gathered concerning the Jews. 

Kai-fung-fu, the abode of the Jewish colony, being four 
hundred and fifty miles to the southwest of Peking, I engaged 
a cart drawn by two mules to carry me there in fifteen days. 
Bestowing in it my baggage and a servant, I accompanied the 
vehicle on horseback, taking pains to keep in sight. As these 
carts have no springs, this mode of travehng by cart is to be 

265 



266 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

recommended on the score of comfort, the chief drawback 
being exposure to wind, dust, and cold. So indifferent are 
the Chinese to jolting that the master always takes the cart 
and puts his attendant on horseback. In less than a week, 
my horse becoming lame, I sold him for a song, and soon 
became reconciled to the snug berth of Yung-an, taking long 
walks to stretch my stiffened limbs. 

After a full month of this luxurious mode of motion I had 
to descend to a humbler vehicle because the road became so 
narrow that it would accommodate only one wheel. My wheel- 
barrow, the common conveyance in that region, was pushed 
by one man and drawn by another, the passengers balancing 
each other by sitting on opposite sides when they did not 
choose to walk. Some of these barrows were fitted with mast 
and sail, so that when the wind was fair the driver had nothing 
to do but hold the helm and "keep her steady." 

The highroad, as it winds through the plain, presents to 
the distant view the aspect of a river with wooded banks ; a 
row of trees, mostly willow and aspen, being planted on either 
side, to supply shade to travelers and timber for the repair of 
bridges. Its course is traced by other landmarks which, if less 
graceful, are more striking to the eye of a foreign observer, I 
allude to the police stations and watch-towers that line the 
road at intervals of from one to two miles. The police stations, 
though presenting in conspicuous characters a list of the force, 
together with an official statement of their duty to " protect 
the traveler and arrest robbers," were nearly all deserted. The 
tranquillity of the country, however, is not such as to justify 
negligence, for we were informed that at one point of the road 
several carts had not long before been carried away by robbers. 
The watch-towers, built of brick and resembling the bastions of 
a city wall, are intended not only for observation but defense. 
In front of each are several little structures of brick, sur- 
mounted by a cone or semi-oval elevation covered with lime 



VISIT TO A COLONY OF JEWS 



26' 



and resembling a- huge ^g'g. These are always five in number, 
for what reason I am unable to say, unless because the Chinese 
reckon five colors in the rainbow and five virtues in their moral 
code. They are depositories of fuel, supposed to be ready for 
the hghting of signal-fires on the occurrence of any sudden 




POLICE STATION. 



alarm. It is not, however, flame but smoke that they use for 
signals, and the substance which they profess to employ for 
this purpose as possessing certain remarkable properties is lang 
fen C excrement of wolves "). Here was a new use for the 
wolf. I saw one run across the road, but it was disappointing 
not to see flocks of them carefully tended by a wolf-herd for 
the production of this important substance. Both towers and 
beacons are faUing to decay, and the impression made by their 
neglected ruins is that the day is not far distant when the tele- 
graph of wolf's dung will be superseded by the electric wire. 

Through this portion of my journey the eye of the traveler 
rests on but one natural object that can truly be denominated 
picturesque ; this is the long range of Si-shan hills, which, 
meeting him outside the gates of Peking, runs parallel to his 
course for nearly four hundred miles. The highest peaks 



2 68 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

covered with snow and glittering like a thousand gilded domes, 
their rugged sides resembling the wave-worn shore of a long- 
retired ocean, they form at first a pleasing contrast to the un- 
varying level of the subjacent plain. But when the traveler 
has opened his eyes on what seems to be the same landscape 
each morning for a fortnight he grows weary of their uniform- 
ity and seeks reHef in speculating on the varied wealth that 
lies concealed beneath their monotonous surface. Silver they 
certainly do contain, but the mines of Shansi, whether from 
defective engineering or other causes, are no longer remuner- 
ative, and have ceased to be worked. Of gold nothing has so 
far been discovered, but coal is found there in rich deposits, 
and along with it abundance of iron — the most precious of all 
metals. Here, then, on the Hne of this imperial road along 
the base of this range of hills, is the track for the first grand 
trunk railway in the Chinese empire.* Except in the capital 
of Honan I failed to find on this long journey anything that 
could be termed a decent lodging-place. The larger inns are 
caravansaries, like those of western Asia, for the entertain- 
ment of camels ; the smaller offer accommodations for foot- 
passengers only. None is more than one story in height, and 
all have floors of earth, with a divan of brick or wood to serve 
for a bed at night and a sofa by day. The guest provides his 
own bedding, and his food too if he is nice on that point. 
Many of the inns are kept by Mohammedans, as I learned to 
my cost. One day, when my servant had set the table and I 
was about to begin my breakfast with a slice of ham, the inn- 
keeper appeared, and implored me by all that was sacred to 
abstain from pork, for his sake if not for my own. Sending 
it away, I addressed myself to a piece of corned beef. To 
this the host also objected, saying that the cow was a sacred 
beast ; and it is so in southern China. To spare his feehngs 

* A railway to Hankow, over this very route, has been recently pro- 
jected and sanctioned, but its construction is delayed by want of funds. 



VISIT TO A COLONY OF JEWS 269 

I said I would break my fast on bread and butter. " Not on 
butter, I beseech you," he exclaimed ; " butter, too, is forbid- 
den. My dishes have not been greased with it for five years." 
Swallowing my dry morsel with a cup of tea, I left the place, 
resolving the next time to steer clear of an innkeeper encum- 
bered by such a combination of prejudices. 

In places the country had been swept by hordes of rebels, 
and it was scarcely possible to obtain at any price a chicken 
or an egg, while rice was out of the question, and coarse millet 
the only food procurable. Unwalled villages had been re- 
duced to ashes, and their wretched inhabitants, who were liv- 
ing in mat sheds, had their remaining possessions loaded on 
wheelbarrows in readiness to fly the moment their sentinel 
should report the approach of marauders. In one of those 
villages the most comfortable lodging I could obtain for the 
night was a mill turned by a buffalo. Spreading my mattress 



\' I' / 








MY BEDSTEAD. 



on the nether millstone, as the cleanest available spot, my 
weary limbs found it a bed of down. Portable kitchens were 
much in demand, not merely as enabhng one man to serve many 



270 



A CYCLE OF CATHAY 



families, but making it possible for him, like the snail, to run away 
with his house on his back. In one place the inn was too poor 
to afford a candlestick ; but by way of substitute the innkeeper 
showed me a trick which would have dehghted the economical 
Diogenes. Cutting a turnip in half, he turned the flat side 




A PORTABLE KITCHEN. 



down, and thrusting into it a bamboo chopstick, "There's 
your candlestick," he said, in a tone of triumph. My candle, 
supported on that sharp stick, gave as good a light as if it had 
rested on silver. In most of these inns the whited walls serve 
the double purpose of ledger and visitors' book, the names of 
lodgers being scrawled there, along with their accounts and 
various effusions in prose or verse. In one was a pasquinade 
on Lady Shen, the wife of the prefect, who must have been a 
remarkable woman to exercise a " reign of terror over her hus- 
band, and through him over the whole district." In another 
I read in verse this confession of an opium-smoker : 

" For a time I dallied with the lamp and pipe; 

Pleasure became disease, and I sought in vain for antidotes ; 

Now, in poverty and pain, 

I am glad to consume the ashes from another's pipe." 

His experience may be taken as that of a large class. To 
these rude verses add rude pictures, not always decent, and 



VISIT TO A COLONY OF JEWS 271 

you have an idea of the embelhshment of the wayside hotels. 
As an index of the state of morals, I may mention that in 
many places singing-girls were importunate in offering their 
services, which were not confined to music. 

Away from great cities the people always exhibit a friendly 
and unsuspicious disposition. " He speaks our language," 
they said; "if his whiskers were shaven off he would be as 
good-looking as we are." They asked me not from what 
country but " from what province " I came, and occasionally 
inquired whether I was Tartar or Chinese. In one case the 
most learned man in a village, after talking with me in the 
evening, came back in the morning to say that he had not 
been able to find the name of my country in his " Dictionary 
of Universal Knowledge." I inquired the date of the work, 
and found it was two hundred years old. Arriving late and 
starting early, I usually escaped annoyance at the hands of the 
curious ; but where I stopped for Sunday their curiosity knew 
no bounds. Gathering in immense throngs, they would force 
themselves into my inn, breaking down doors and windows, 
and were only appeased when I came out and placed myself 
on view. When I spoke to them on the truths of rehgion 
they listened respectfully, and they were always glad to get a 
few tracts, though not many were able to read them. One / 
man said he had received a Bible from a foreigner, but remem- 
bered only one word of its contents— the name " Yehowa." 
That name, I told him, was the subject of the whole book; 
and it served me for an excellent text. 

Except in the districts affected by rebellion, the people ap- 
peared well fed and well dressed ; and the absence of beggars 
testified to the comfort of their social condition. In one 
village every man wore two hats, one superposed upon the 
other. Before noting it down as a custom of the country I 
learned on inquiry that those people were coming home from 
a fair, where each had provided himself with a new hat for 



272 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

the new year, to begin the next day. The next day the new 
one only was worn. The shops and gateways were adorned 
with new inscriptions on fresh red paper, everybody appeared 
in bright apparel, and the streets were thronged with people 
paying visits of ceremony. My innkeeper threw himself at 
my feet and wished me a happy New Year, expecting and 
receiving the usual cumshaw^ or gift, the word meaning gold- 
dust. My servant performed the same ceremony, and then 
asked my permission to offer the prescribed token of respect to 
his mother. She was far away ; but, turning his face toward 
Peking, he bowed his head to the earth nine times and wished 
her long life — a beautiful expression of that filial feeling which 
has created the worship of ancestors and made it a living force 
among the Chinese people. 

In China a city always has a wall ; and it is sometimes 
called a large city when it has very few inhabitants. After 
leaving Peking I passed through more than twenty cities, of 
four grades in political importance, Pao-ting and Kai-fung, 
with a population of one and two hundred thousand respec- 
tively, being the largest. Isolated farm-houses were nowhere 
to be seen ; the people all congregate in villages for conve- 
nience and mutual protection. The country is thus deprived 
of its beauty, and what Akenside calls 

" The mild dignity of private life " 

is practically unknown. Through the greater part of the region 
that came under my view the population was sparse compared 
with that on the sea-coast, though the soil is extremely fertile. 
The cities were in most cases empty fortresses, their streets 
here and there spanned with honorary portals. One was in- 
scribed to a father and son, who had both risen to the rank of 
cabinet minister ; another recorded the fact that one family had 
for four generations given a viceroy to some province of the 
empire ; a third was in honor of a widow, and bore the legend : 



VISIT TO A COLONY OF JEWS 273 

" Her virtue was as pure, and her heart as cold, as ice." 

This does not imply that chastity, 

" Pure as the icicle that hangs on Dian's temple," 

is at all rare. It only means that Madam Ping, being left a 
widow at an early age, had resisted all temptations to marry 
again. Such portals are erected at private expense, but not 
without a license from the emperor, which it costs something 
to obtain. A similar portal, spanning the roadway near a 
humble hamlet, informs the passenger that " here were born 
six or seven famous kings of the dynasty of Shang" (i.e., be- 
tween three and four thousand years ago). It was amusing 
to note that the names of these kings were not given, but that 
of the public-spirited donor was duly recorded. 

I passed through a deserted city, whose walls of baked clay 
were in good condition, though their facing of brick had been 
removed. It had been the capital of Chao, a small but war- 
like state in the feudal period, when Babylon was in her glory. 
Fancy could conjure up the armies that had issued from those 
silent gates ; and the Chinese, who have a dread of ghosts, 
always give it a wide berth at night, though they are not afraid 
to pass through in daytime. Another spot of antiquarian in- 
terest was the town of Yangku, which is supposed to have 
been the site of an astronomical observatory in the reign of 
Yao, 2300 B.C. At present it contains nothing suggestive of 
science. 

The existence in Honan of a colony of Jews, who profess 
to have entered China before our era, has long been known to 
the Christian world. They were discovered by Jesuit fathers 
in the seventeenth century. In 1850 a deputation of native 
Christians was sent among them by Bishop Smith and Dr. Med- 
hurst. Two of the Jews were induced to come to Shanghai, and 
some of their Hebrew manuscripts were obtained ; but up to the 



2 74 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

date of my journey they had not, so far as we are informed, 
been visited for more than two centuries by any European. 
It became therefore a matter of interest to ascertain their 
present condition, and this, as I have remarked, was the chief 
consideration that induced me to make Kai-fung-fu an objec- 
tive point in the course of my inland travels. There is reason 
to believe that in earlier ages there were many other congre- 
gations of Jews located in different parts of China. A syna- 
gogue at Ningpo, now destroyed, formerly contributed one or 
more copies of the law to their brethren in Honan, and Chi- 
nese writers speak of a sect called Hicn-kiao, supposed to be 
Jews. 

On arriving at Kai-fung-fu, I inquired for the Jewish syna- 
gogue, but getting no satisfactory answer from the pagan inn- 
keeper, I went for information to one of the Mohammedan 
mosques, of which there are six within the walls. I was well 
received by the mufti, and the advent of a stranger from the 
West, who was reported to be a worshiper of the " True Lord," 
drew together a large concourse of the faithful. " Don't be 
uneasy," said the mufti ; " these are all believers ; I want you 
to tell them about Jesus, the son of Mary." He pronounced 
the name with reverence, as that of one of the most illustrious 
of their prophets ; and seldom has a missionary preached to a 
larger audience of Moslems than I addressed that day from 
the pages of the New Testament. The Jews he denounced as 
kajirs (" unbelievers "), and he evinced no very poignant sorrow 
when he informed me that their synagogue had come to deso- 
lation. It was, he assured me, utterly demohshed, and the 
people who had worshiped there were impoverished and scat- 
tered abroad. " Then," said I, " I will go and see the spot 
on which it stood ;" and directing my bearers to proceed to the 
place indicated by the mufti, I passed through streets crowded 
with ciu-ious spectators to an open square, in the center of which 
there stood a solitary stone. On one side was an inscription 



VISIT TO A CO 10 NY OF lEWS 275 

commemorating the erection of the synagogue, and on the other 
a record of its rebuilding ; but to my eye it told a sadder tale 
— not of building and rebuilding, but of decay and ruin. It 
was inscribed with Ichabod — "the glory is departed." Stand- 
ing on the pedestal and resting my right hand on the head of 
that stone, which was to be a silent witness of the truths I was 
about to utter, I explained to the expectant multitude my 
reasons for " taking pleasure in the stones of Israel and favor- 
ing the dust thereof," * 

"Are there among you any of the family of Israel? " I in- 
quired. " I am one," responded a young man whose face cor- 
roborated his assertion ; and then another and another stepped 
forth, until I saw before me representatives of six out of the 
seven families into which the colony is divided. There, on 
that melancholy spot where the very foundations of the syna- 
gogue had been torn from the ground and there no longer re- 
mained one stone upon another, they confessed with shame 

* Much interesting information touching the Jews in China may be 
found in the twentieth volume of the '" Chinese Repository," which con- 
tains also the report of the deputation above referred to. From this source 
I borrow an extract from the inscription on that monumental stone : "With 
respect to the religion of Israel, we find that our first ancestor was Adam. 
The founder of the religion was Abraham ; then came Moses, who estab- 
lished the law and handed down the sacred writings. During the dynasty 
of Han (B.C. 200-A.D. 226) this religion entered China. In the second 
year of Hiao-tsung, of the Sung dynasty (a.d. 1164), a synagogue was 
erected in Kai-fung-fu. Those who attempt to represent God by images 
or pictures do but vainly occupy themselves with empty forms. Those 
who honor and obey the sacred writings know the origin of all things. 
Eternal reason and the sacred writings mutually sustain each other in tes- 
tifying whence men derived their being. All those who profess this re- 
ligion aim at the practice of goodness and avoid the commission of vice." 
It is affecting to think of this solitary stone continuing to bear its silent 
testimony after the synagogue has fallen and the voice of its worshipers 
ceased to be heard. Like that which records the story of the Nestorian 
missions in China, it deserves to be regarded as one of the most precious 
monuments of religious history. 



276 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

and grief that their holy and beautiful house had been demol- 
ished by their own hands. It had for a long time,- they said, 
been in a ruinous condition ; they had no money to make 
repairs ; they had, moreover, lost all knowledge of the sacred 
tongue ; the traditions of the fathers were no longer handed 
down and their ritual worship had ceased to be observed. In 
this state of things they had yielded to the pressure of neces- 
sity and disposed of the timbers and stones of that venerable 
edifice to obtain relief for their bodily wants. 

In the evening some of them came to my lodgings, bringing 
for my inspection a copy of the " Law " inscribed on a roll of 
parchment, without the points, and in a style of manuscript 
which I was unable to make out, though I had told them 
rather imprudently that I was acquainted with the language of 
their sacred books.* 

The next day, the Christian Sabbath, they repeated their 
visit, listening respectfully to what I had to say concerning the 
law and the gospel, and answering as far as they were able 
my inquiries as to their past history and present state. Two 
of them appeared in official costume, one wearing a gilt and 
the other a crystal button ; but, far from sustaining the usual 
character for thrift and worldly prosperity, they number among 
them none that is rich and but few that are honorable. Some, 
indeed, true to their hereditary instincts, are employed in a 
small way in banking establishments (the first man I met was 
a money-changer) ; others keep fruit-stores and cake-shops, 
drive a business in old clothes, or pursue various handicrafts, 
while a few find employment in military service. The preva- 
lence of rebellion in the central provinces had told sadly on 

* I afterward obtained from them two rolls of the law, and after a lit- 
tle practice found myself able to read them with sufficient ease, the chief 
difficulty being the want of the customary vowel-points. One of these 
rolls I procured for my friend, Dr. S. Wells Williams, who presented it 
to the library of Yale College. 



VISIT TO A COLONY OF JEWS 277 

the prosperity of Kai-fung-fu, and the Jews have, not unUkely 
owing to the nature of their occupations, been the greatest 
sufferers. Their number they estimated, though not very ex- 
actly, at from three to four hundred. They were unable to 
trace their tribal pedigree, they keep no register, and never on 
any occasion assemble together as one congregation. Until 
recently they had a common center in their synagogue, though 
their hturgical service had long been discontinued; but the 
congregation seems to be following the fate of its building. 
No bond of union remains, and they are in danger of being 
speedily absorbed by Mohammedanism or heathenism. One 
of them has lately become a priest of Buddha, taking for his 
title Pen-tao, which signifies " one who is rooted in the know- 
ledge of the truth." The large tablet that once adorned the 
entrance of the synagogue, bearing in gilded characters the 
name " Israel " [I-sz-lo-yeh)^ has been appropriated by one of 
the Mohammedan mosques. Some efforts have been made 
to draw over the people, who differ from the Moslems so little 
that their heathen neighbors have never been able to distin- 
guish them by any other circumstance than that of their pick- 
ing the sinews out of the flesh they eat — a custom commem- 
orative of Jacob's conflict with the angel. These Jews, in 
commemoration of the principal land of their sojourn on their 
way to China, formerly called their religion Tienchu Kiaii (the 
"religion of India"). This name, being in sound, though not 
in orthography, liable to be confounded with that of the 
Roman Catholics, was later on abandoned through fear of 
their being involved in the fierce persecution which fell on the 
Christians of China. They then called themselves Tiao-kiii- 
kiao (" sinew-pickers "), from a name first given them in deri- 
sion by their heathen neighbors. (See Gen. xxxii. 32.) 

One of my visitors was a son of the last of their rabbis, who, 
some thirty or forty years ago, died in the province of Kan-su. 
With him perished the last vestige of their acquaintance with 



278 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

the sacred tongue. Though they still preserve several copies of 
the law and the prophets, there is not a man among them who 
can read a word of Hebrew ; and not long ago it was seriously 
proposed to expose their parchments in the market-place in the 
hope that they might attract the attention of some wandering 
Jew who would be able to restore to them the language of 
their fathers. Since the cessation of their ritual worship their 
children all grow up without the seal of the covenant. The 
young generations are uncircumcised, and, as might be ex- 
pected, they no longer take pains to keep their blood pure 
from intermixture with Gentiles. One of them confessed to 
me that his wife was a heathen. They remember the names 
of the Feast of Tabernacles, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, 
and a few other ceremonial rites that were practised by a former 
generation ; but all such usages are now neglected, and the 
next half-century is not unlikely to terminate their existence as 
a distinct people. 

Near the margin of the Poyang Lake there stands a lofty 
rock so peculiar and solitary that it is known by the name of 
the " Little Orphan." The adjacent shore is low and level, 
and its kindred rocks are all on the opposite side of the lake, 
whence it seems to have been torn away by some violent con- 
vulsion and planted immovably in the bosom of the waters. 
Such to me appeared that fragment of the Israelitish nation. 
A rock rent from the side of Mount Zion by some great 
national catastrophe and projected into the central plain of 
China, it has stood there, while the centuries rolled by, sublime 
in its antiquity and solitude. It is now on the verge of being 
swallowed by the flood of paganism, and the spectacle is a 
mournful one. The Jews themselves are deeply conscious of 
their sad situation, and the shadow of an inevitable destiny 
seems to be resting upon them. Poor, unhappy people! As 
they inquired about the destruction of the Holy City and the 
dispersion of their tribes, and referred to their own decaying 



VISIT TO A COIONY OF JEWS 



79 



condition, I endeavored to comfort them by pointing to Him 
who is the consolation of Israel. I told them the straw had 
not been trodden underfoot until the ripe grain had been 
gathered to disseminate in other fields. The dikes had not 
been broken down until the time came for pouring the fertiliz- 
ing waters over the face of the earth. Christian civilization, 
with all its grand results, had sprung from a Jewish root, and 
the promise to Abraham was fulfilled that " in his seed all the 
nations of the earth should be blessed."* 



* Three years after the date of this visit I addressed a letter to the ed- 
itor of the "Jewish Times," of New York, embodying the observations 
here given, and proposing the formation of a Jewish mission. The appeal 
excited some discussion among the Jews, but produced no further result 
— if I except sundry letters in Hebrew, which I was requested to forward 
to a people who had forgotten the language of their fathers. In my letter 
to the " Jewish Times " I said, and now repeat, that " the rebuilding of 
the synagogue is indispensable to give this moribund colony a bond of 
union " ; and that, " without this, nothing can save it from extinction." 




A SUBURB OK PEKING. 



CHAPTER V 

PILGRIMAGE TO THE TOMB OF CONFUCIUS 

The Yellow River; its new course; periodic changes — Temple and sepul- 
cher — Outline of Confucianism — The state religion — The three creeds 
blended — The Grand Canal 

FROM Kai-fung-fu I proceeded in a northeasterly direc- 
tion as far as Kiu-fu, the Mecca of the empire, which I 
reached after a circuitous journey of eight days, in which I 
twice crossed the Yellow River, my route following the course 
of its new bed. 

The sepulcher of wisdom will detain us with the hoary past, 
the fierce and turbid stream carries our thoughts irresistibly to 
the future. Spurning the feeble efforts of the natives, it waits 
to be subdued by the science of Western engineers ; and, too 
rapid for the creeping junk, it has rushed into the sea at a 
more accessible point than its ancient mouth, as if for the ex- 
press purpose of inviting steam navigation. When I first saw 
it I felt disappointed. The huge embankment, crenelated like 
the wall of a fortress, winding through the plain as the Great 
Wall winds over the mountains of the North— almost as great 
a monument of industry and vastly more expensive — excited 
my expectations. But the river itself lay hidden between its 
banks, waiting for the melting of the winter snows to call it 
forth. Equal in length to the Yang-tse-Kiang, it could not at 
that season boast one twentieth of its volume of water. The 
diagonal course pursued by the ferry-boat at Kai-fung-fu, as 
it is swept down by the current, is estimated in the Chinese 
guide-book at no more than two thirds of a mile ; the actual 

280 



PILGRIMAGE TO THE TOMB OF CONFUCIUS 281 

width opposite the ferry landing is less than half that distance. 
The greatest depth at the then low stage of water did not ex- 
ceed six or seven feet, so that ferrymen were able to use their 
poles all the way from one bank to the other. The Peiho 
below Tientsin makes quite as respectable a figure. I could 
hardly have realized that I was viewing one of the chief rivers 
of the East, but for the enormous embankments, which are so 
wide apart as to make allowance for an expansion of seven 
miles. At the point where I crossed it in Shantung it had 
gained considerably both in breadth and depth, and thence to 
the sea it is no doubt much better adapted for navigation by 
large vessels, though its mouth will require to be kept open by 
dredging, or by the automatic method which Captain Eads 
employed to muzzle the Mississippi. 

In this part of the river's course the number of junks is 
greatly increased, though in Honan there appeared to be little 
communication between distant points. Numerous boats 
were carrying coal to Funghien, not far from the provincial 
capital, but I was unable to discover one that was bound for 
a more distant port. I was resolved, if I could obtain any 
kind of craft, to commit myself to the current and explore the 
river through its new channel ; but my efforts were in vain. 
No boat was lying at the crossing, except those that belonged 
to the ferry ; and I was informed that all the intercourse be- 
tween the capitals of Honan and Shantung, distant three hun- 
dred miles and both situated on the bank of the river, is car- 
ried on by land. Of the truth of this statement I had ocular 
evidence in the large number of carts and wheelbarrows which 
we met on the way, a whole fleet of the latter, with sails spread, 
scudding before the wind, reminding us of what Milton says 
of the 

" Barren plains 
Of Sericana, where Chineses drive, 
With wind and sails, their cany wagons light." 



282 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

This deficiency of junk navigation is to be ascribed only in 
part to the rapidity of the current, which makes the downward 
trip dangerous and the return voyage next to impossible. 
The best explanation is no doubt to be found in the unsettled 
state of the country, the banks of the river being until recently 
infested by ferocious hordes of banditti. From a geographical 
point of view the exploration of the Yellow River is one of the 
most interesting problems of the age. 

It is not perhaps generally known that in the immense de- 
parture from its late channel, which excites the astonishment of 
the age, the Yellow River is returning to a long-forsaken path- 
way. Its vagaries are minutely traced in the Yii-Kimg Chue- 
Chiy a hydrographical work, from which we learn the curious 
fact that the river divided its waters between the two principal 
channels for one hundred and forty-six years, and that it was 
not till the reign of the Mongols, six hundred years ago, that 
it became settled in its southern bed. The author concludes 
with the expression of an earnest desire that the troublesome 
stream, which bears the name of " China's sorrow," may be 
induced to return to its northern course. After the lapse of 
two centuries his wish has been gratified. With this opinion 
the Chinese government appears to concur; for, the river 
having burst its southern embankments in 1889 and rushed 
away toward the Yang-tse-Kiang, the gap was closed at im- 
mense expense and the wanderer brought back to the northern 
channel, in which it had flowed since 1852. 

Situated in a fertile plain, with a range of hills in shape like 
an arc of an ellipse, to bring the fungshui influence to a 
focus, Kiu-fu, the goal of my pilgrimage, is deemed equally 
favorable for the birth or the burial of great men. Trade it 
has none. It prefers to live on the emoluments which a 
grateful nation has thought fit to confer on the greatest of its 
benefactors. A Hneal descendant of the Sage has here his 



PILGRIMAGE TO THE TOMB OF CONFUCIUS 283 

palace, with the title of duke and ample domains. Twelve of 
the nearer branches of the family and sixty of the more remote 
have likewise been provided for by imperial bounty. It is 
here that the remains of Confucius have slept for three and 
twenty centuries, while his doctrines have swayed the mind of 
the nation with undiminished authority, and his memory con- 
tinues as green as the cypresses that shade his sepulcher. 

The city is in the form of a rectangle, a mile in length by 
half a mile in breadth. One end of the inclosure is occupied 
by the temple of Confucius. The tomb, which is outside of 
the city, is connected with it by an avenue of stately cedars. 
This avenue bears the name of Shen Tao (the '' Spirit Road "), 
meaning that the spirit of the holy man, when invoked with 
proper rites, passes through these trees back and forth between 
tomb and temple. He has a temple in every city of the em- 
pire, and his effigy is adored in every school-room in the land. 
His worship is accordingly not localized ; hence little zeal is 
shown to make the pilgrimage to this holy city. Yet tomb 
and temple are both on such a scale of magnificence as to be 
worthy of an empire whose most sacred traditions are here 
embodied. The temple is a vestibule to the tomb, and we 
shall visit that first. 

On the last day of February, just as the sun was rising, I 
presented myself at the great gate ; but as the porters saw me 
approaching they closed it in my face. That meant nothing 
more than a demand to be paid for opening it. A red card 
thrust through a crevice, with a promise of cumshaiu (" gold- 
dust "), proved effectual, and the great shrine stood open be- 
fore me. The moon being at the full, a company of young 
men in rich attire were paying their devotions to the spirit of 
their illustrious ancestor. I was politely requested to amuse 
myself in some of the adjoining courts until the service should 
be completed. It was not long, chiefly consisting of the Koto^ 



284 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

or Nine Prostrations, accompanied by a repetition of the titles 
of the Sage, in form something like a hymn of praise : 

" Confucius! Confucius! How great is Confucius!" 

In the meantime I entered a spacious court, paved with 
stone and studded with sculptured pai-lows, or honorary gate- 
ways, that lead nowhere. From this I passed into another of 
equal extent, which had a little canal meandering through it, 
excavated for the sole purpose of giving occasion for a dozen 
or more beautiful bridges of shining marble. A third court 
contained a solemn grove of funereal cypress, some of the 
trees being of enormous size, and their deep shade profoundly 
impressive. One of them, if, as alleged, it was planted by the 
Sage himself, is more than two thousand years old. Beyond 
these, in another court, stood a forest of granite columns, range 
on range, each covered with laudatory inscriptions and shel- 
tered by a pretty pavilion. Each column had been erected 
by a sovereign of the empire ; some of them, dating as far 
back as the dynasties of Han, Tsin, and Wei (from fifteen to 
twenty centuries), were so defaced by time as to be illegible. 
The habit of taking printed copies from the stone had helped 
to obliterate the inscriptions. Some of later dynasties were 
more distinct. One by the Emperor Cheng Hua, 1465 a.d., 
particularly attracted my attention. It styled Confucius the 
" Heart of Heaven, without whom we should have been 
wrapped in one unbroken night." 

The library was a wooden tower, four or five stories in 
height, in the finest style of Chinese architecture. Instead, 
however, of being filled with books it is tenanted by innumer- 
able pigeons. If it ever contained books, there is now no 
trace of them. The central shrine, where I had seen the 
descendants of the Sage at their devotions, resembles the Con- 
fucian temple at Peking, but is vaster in its proportions. Like 
all of its kind, it consists of a long hall, rising in one story to 



PILGRIMAGE TO THE TOMB OF CONFUCIUS 285 

a great height. In this, however, the front pillars are of stone 
instead of wood ; and a more important difference is the fact 
that here the Sage and his principal disciples are represented 
by statues of stone, while elsewhere they have only tablets in- 
scribed with their names. The statues are not the work of a 
Phidias, and the simple tablets, which even here are the chief 
objects of adoration, are far more impressive. The tablet of 
Confucius bears on it the inscription, " The seat of the spirit 
of the most holy ancient sage, Confucius." Numerous inscrip- 
tions on gilded tablets, some fixed in the vaulted roof, others 
pendent from the ceiling, set forth the Sage's virtues in phrases 
like the following : 

" The model teacher of all ages." 

" With heaven and earth, he forms a trinity." 

" His virtue is equal to that of heaven and earth." 

" He exhausted the possibilities of nature." 

" Of all the sages, he was the grand consummation." 

" His holy soul was sent down from heaven." 

The tablets of seventy-two out of his three thousand disci- 
ples who became conspicuous for wisdom and virtue are 
ranged on either hand, each in a separate shrine ; while in 
niches around the walls are to be seen the tablets of some of 
his eminent followers of later times, all participating in the 
cloud of incense offered to the great master. Attached to this 
building are several others, though less conspicuous, one of 
which is devoted to the memory of the father of Confucius, of 
whom there was nothing to be remembered except that he died 
too early to influence the character of his famous son. A shrine 
to the " Holy Mother " pays deserved honor to the woman who 
trained and taught China's teacher. His ancestors for five 
generations have places of honor, and wear the posthumous 
title of prince, though in life they were poor and unknown. 

The most curious of these collateral shrines is one to the 
" Holy Lady, the wife of the Sage." As she was divorced, it 



2 86 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

suggests the dilemma that if put away for cause she does not 
deserve a shrine ; if without cause the Sage was not worthy of 
his. A well where the Sage is said to have drawn water, and 
a hall filled with portraits on stone of himself and his disciples, 
were the last objects of interest that I had time to inspect. 

On my way to the city gate I noticed a gilded inscription on 
a marble arch at the entrance of a street, informing the passer- 
by that " this is Poverty Lane, where Yen Hui, the favorite dis- 
ciple, formerly dwelt." He died young, but left behind him an 
invaluable example of love of study and contempt for luxury. 
Beyond the gate, pursuing for half a mile the graceful curves of 
the " Spirit Road," I came to a column marking a limit, where 
riders are required to dismount and proceed on foot to the 
entrance of the Campo Santo. The wall of the holy ground 
incloses a space of about ten acres, shaded by great trees and 
filled with tombs of the Sage's descendants, excepting an area 
of two or three acres on the side facing the city, which is occu- 
pied by a mound so large that it might be described as a hill. 
This is the Sage's tomb. The earth of which it is formed is a 
more enduring monument than brick or stone, and a few spade- 
fuls are added every year, so that, with the flight of time, the 
hillock may yet become a mountain. A paved court and a 
granite column comprise all that art has done in the way of 
embeUishment. On one side an old tree leaning on crutches 
informs you that it was planted by the hand of Tze-kung, one 
of the most eminent in the inner circle of the Sage's school ; 
and near it a tablet marks the site of a lodge in which this de- 
voted disciple passed six years watching by the grave of his 
master. The very grass that grows within this inclosure is 
sacred, endowed with powers of divination much beyond what 
we attribute to watch-hazel. It gives rise to a brisk trade, which 
I encouraged by buying a bundle of stalks, in number seven 
times seven ; not that I cared to learn from them the secrets of 
futurity, but to prove that I had won the honors of a hadji. 



PILGRIMAGE TO THE TOMB OF COXFUCIUS 287 



Though he has a temple in every city, Confucius is not dei- 
fied ; he is never invoked in the character of a tutelar divinity. 
The homage paid him is purely commemorative. It is not, 
therefore, a direct obstacle to the acceptance of the Christian 
faith. While teeth, toe-nails, and hairs of Buddha are distrib- 
uted over half of Asia, there are no such fragments of Confu- 
cius. Near Suchau is to be seen a monument marking a spot 
where his hat and boots 
were buried — as the buck- 
skin trousers of General 
Washington are preserved 
in our national museum. 

It is remarkable that 




Confucius, Buddha, and 
Laotse all flourished in 
the sixth century B.C. 
Confucius, after a brief 
experience in official hfe, 
devoted himself to the 
work of education, con- 
scious of a heaven-appointed mission, and feeHng that in 
that way he could best shape the destinies of coming ages. 
He died at the age of seventy-three, in 479 B.C. Among the 
sages of the pagan world he comes nearest to Christ in vir- 
tue and influence. His popularity in the West is due in some 
degree to the Roman toga, under which he was introduced by 
Jesuit missionaries. The same is true of Mencius, the second 
Sage, as he is called. Their Chinese names, Kiingfutse and 
Mungtse^ are too jagged to enter the Occidental ear. Confucius 
was not an originator : he was a reformer, selecting from past and 
present whatever he deemed worthy of preservation. " I am 
not an author, but an editor," he said of himself. In this way, 
without assuming the role of prophet, he gave to China a cult 
that reaches all classes, and a code of morals which, however 



288 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

deficient in depth and power, still serves as a bond of social 
order. His attitude toward religion has been misunderstood. 
He was not an agnostic in the modern sense. Superior to the 
superstitions of the vulgar, he taught his disciples to " respect 
the gods, but not to go near them." Yet few men have ever 
been more penetrated with reverence for the Supreme Power of 
the universe, whom, to avoid irreverence, he calls by the vague 
designation of Heaven. His conception is not wanting in per- 
sonality, for he ascribes to Heaven the attributes of moral gov- 
ernment and providence. Once, when in great peril, he allayed 
the fears of his followers by declaring, with sublime confidence, 
that " if Heaven had decreed that the world was not to lose the 
benefits of his doctrine, his enemies could do nothing against 
him." He admits prayer in more than one passage. When he 
was sick, his disciples proposing to pray for him, he replied, 
" I have long prayed," an expression which his commentators 
make to mean that he never prayed at all. To him it is due 
that the worship of Heaven still survives, for which the emperor 
officiates as high priest. 

Questioned as to a future life, he declined to dogmatize or 
speculate. "We know not life; how can we know death?" 
was his cautious answer. Yet he enjoined the worship of an- 
cestors, a cult which has done more than any abstract teach- 
ing to cherish a behef in the survival of the soul. His agnos- 
ticism was essentially different from that combative type which 
seeks to destroy faith in supersensible existence. Confucius 
was above all a teacher of morals. So consonant is his sys- 
tem with that of Christianity that the golden rule, in a nega- 
tive form, is its first law, and charity and humility among its 
leading virtues. He was not a Christ, but a Moses. The chief 
defect of Confucianism is one that is inherent in the "law," 
which, though "holy, righteous, and good," is yet " weak through 
the flesh." It is lacking in spiritual life ; and, while now and 
then an individual may be met with who is striving to live up 



riLGRIMAGE TO THE TOMB OF CONFUCIUS 289 

to its precepts, it is no libel to say of the bulk of its noisiest 
professors, i.e., of the whole body of so-called literati, that they 
are steeped in formalism and hypocrisy. 

The state religion is not Confucianism, though founded on it. 
To the worship of Heaven it adds the worship of nature in its 
chief material forms, such as the earth, sun, moon, and stars, 
mountains and rivers. To the cultus of ancestors it not only adds 
that of heroes, but expands itself so as to take in many of the 
divinities of Taoism and Buddhism, thus forming a compound of 
the three religions. Logically the three are irreconcilable, the 
Taoist being materialism, the Buddhist idealism, and the Con- 
fucian essentially ethical. Yet the people, like the state, make of 
them a unity by swallowing portions of each. In ordinary their 
lives are regulated by Confucian forms, in sickness they call in 
Taoist priests to exorcise evil spirits, and at funerals they have 
Buddhist priests to say masses for the repose of the soul. Be- 
sides the women and the priesthood the two sects last named 
have very few professed adherents, though the whole nation 
is more or less tinged by them. The men (at least those who 
can read) almost without exception profess to be followers of 
Confucius. 

In the heterogeneous compound that forms the religion 
of the people a large element is the worship of brute animals, 
or rather of their spiritual types, as with the North American 
Indians. The most popular shrines in Peking are those of 
the fox. Whether snake, hedgehog, or weasel comes next in 
favor it may not be easy to decide. This animal-worship is 
an excrescence of Taoism, and its existence proves the feeble- 
ness of the other creeds. 

Is it possible that they should be otherwise than feeble, when 
all they require is conformity to a Hfeless ritual ? Preaching is 
not unknown, but as a practice it is non-existent. That which 
most resembles it is an exposition of the maxims of Kanghi, 
which the government instituted early in the eighteenth cen- 



290 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

tury in imitation of and in opposition to the preaching of 
Christianity. Originally semi-monthly, the observance is now 
moribund, so that lectures are seldom given,, and they have 
ceased to attract attention. Contrast with this a state of so- 
ciety in which the bulk of the people go to church from week 
to week to be instructed and encouraged in the duties of re- 
ligion and morality, and you have in large measure the 
secret of the difference in moral tone between Christendom 
and China. The electric fluid pervades all nature ; but was it 
not in Christendom that it came forth like the flames of Pen- 
tecost to create a new era and to supply a new source of light 
and power? Its energy is no longer restricted to the land of 
its birth, nor is the renovating power of the Holy Spirit, 
which in due time may be expected to put new life into the 
dry bones of the old systems of China. 

From Kiu-fu to the old bed of the Yellow River it was my 
intention to proceed by land ; but my cart-driver, taking alarm 
at rumors of rebels, refused to go farther, and I was compelled 
to seek for some other mode of pro.secuting my journey. The 
canal was suggested, and I made my way in that direction 
slowly, painfully toiling on, now on foot, now on a wheelbar- 
row, anon mounted on one of the imperial post-horses or seated 
in a mandarin's carriage. At length ascending a hill, I beheld 
the Weishan Lake spreading its silvery expanse at my feet. 
Embosoming an archipelago of green islands and stretching far 
away among the hills, to my eye the scene was too pleasing to 
be real. I distrusted my senses and thought it a mirage, such 
as often before had mocked my hopes with the apparition of 
lake and stream. When my guide assured me that it was no 
deceptive show I gave way to transports not unlike those of 
the Greeks when, escaping from the heart of Persia, they 
caught a distant view of the waters of the Euxine, and shouted, 
"Thaiassaf Thalassa!'' 

Taking passage at the foot of the lake, I glided gently down 



PILGRIMAGE TO THE TOMB OE CONEUCIUS 291 

with the current and reached Chinkiangfu, a distance of three 
hundred miles, in less than a week. For comfort commend 
me to a Chinese canal-boat, with no passengers and no noise. 
If you are not pressed for time you have no reason to sigh for 
smoky steamer or rattling railway. Through this portion of its 
course the canal deserves the appellation of " Grand." For 
the first half, extending to the old bed, it varies from eighty to 
two hundred feet in width. Seething and foaming as it rushes 
from the lake, and rolling on with a strong current, it has the 
aspect of a river. Near this point it parts with enough of its 
water to form a navigable stream, which enters the sea at Hai- 
chau. Beyond the old bed of the Yellow River its waters are 
drawn off by innumerable sluices to irrigate the rice-grounds, 
until it is reduced to about forty feet in breadth and four in 
depth. Recruited, however, by a timely supply from the 
Kauyu Lake, it recovers much of its former strength, and 
flows on to the Yang-tse-Kiang with a velocity that makes toil- 
some w^ork for trackers. 

To what extent the canal may be practicable for steam navi- 
gation is a question not without interest. My mind had been 
occupied with it for some days, when I happily had the oppor- 
tunity of seeing it subjected to the test of experiment. Just off 
the city of Kauyu, where the canal reaches its minimum depth, 
I met a tugboat from Shanghai towing a flotilla of war-junks. 
The tug would be able to reach the city of Tsingkiangpu, but 
not to go beyond it on account of the locks, or water-gates, 
some of which are only twelve feet in width. As the canal now 
is, propellers of three feet draft and ten feet beam, making 
up in length what they lack in other dimensions, might drive 
a profitable trade between Chinkiang and Tsiningchau, a dis- 
tance of four hundred miles ; but the utility of the canal would 
be greatly enhanced by adding a lock or two in the shallower 
portions and increasing the breadth of those that now exist so 
as to admit the passage of larger vessels. A little engineering 



292 



A CYCLE OF CATHAY 



at its point of intersection with the new course of the Yellow 
River would supply an abundance of water to a portion that is 
frequently dry, making its facilities for junk navigation equal 
to those of its best days. It would then be possible for small 
steamers to make inland voyages from Shanghai nearly to the 
gates of Peking. 

Apart from any question of steam, the canal deserves to be 
kept in repair, as an alternative route for the supply of the 
capital in case of war. Through a vast network of rivers and 
canals it opens a waterway to all the great cities of central and 
southern China. Extending from Peking to Hangchau, over 
seven hundred miles, it is in its way as unique as the Great 
Wall. The completion of the work, if not its inception, is the 
chief glory of the Mongol house of Kublai Khan, which reigned 
six hundred years ago. 




COLOSSAL IMAGES — MING TOMBS. (SEE PAGE 249.) 




Dr. iVlARTlN, hlRST PREbiDtNT Oh THE TuNGWEN CoLLEGE. 



CHAPTER VI 



THE TUNGWEN COLLEGE 



Made president — School of Interpreters — Attempt to introduce the tele- 
graph — Opposition to improvements — Ill-starred professors — An ec- 
centric German 

THE founding of a state is a commonplace event, but not 
if the scene be the banks of the Congo. So the history 
of a college may not be devoid of interest when located in the 
capital of China. In Heu of scholastic details, we shall have 
side-lights on Chinese Hfe — young students and old students, 
professors and officials, passing in review. 

Arriving after my furlough in September, 1869, I called on 
Mr. Hart to learn the state of the college. " It is," he said, 
" still in existence," adding that he had made up his mind to 
place me at the head of it, and to hand over to me a lump sum 
annually from the customs revenue to keep it running. " I 
will not dechne to trim the lamps," I replied, " but it must be 
on condition that you supply the oil," meaning that I would 
accept the presidency, but not the charge of the finances. The 
latter, at my insistence, he consented to retain in his own 
hands, and for twenty-five years from that date he discharged 
his part of the compact with noble fidelity. How I acquitted 
myself of mine will appear in the sequel. Of the college, 
properly so called, he is the father, I a dry-nurse— /<?<?;///;;/ 
arida nutrix, I should call myself if the Chinese had made a 
better show in the late war. On the nomination of Mr. Hart 
I was appointed president, the Chinese ministers asserting in 

293 



294 ^ CYCLE OF CATHAY 

their despatch that he had but given expression to a purpose 
which they had aheady formed. Before sending this despatch 
they subjected me to an informal examination as to my know- 
ledge of mathematics, handing me a paper of questions. Who 
prepared the questions, who read my answers, I never knew ; 
but my solutions must have been accepted as satisfactory evi- 
dence of fitness to preside over a scientific school. 

On November 26, 1869, I was inducted into office, in pres- 
ence of several members of the TsungU Yamen and of Dr. Wil- 
Hams, the United States charge d'affaires. Mr. Hart was not 
present, but sent a cordial note of congratulation, in which he 
drew an augury from the clouds that were breaking away. The 
students, about forty in number, were presented in classes by 
the proctor, Pin, commissioner to Europe, and performed the 
salaam of allegiance, making a pleasant spectacle in their long 
robes and tasseled hats of ceremony. My inaugural discourse 
was in Chinese, and one of my illustrations so tickled the fancy 
of the grand secretary, Pao, somewhat renowned as a poet, that 
he turned it into verse, which he wrote on a pair of beautiful 
scrolls and presented to me as a souvenir of the occasion. 

Mr. Hart had known me in Ningpo. He had also observed 
my half-abortive attempt to build up a mission school, in ref- 
erence to which he had said to me, " If any man could m^ake it 
succeed you can." In regard to this enterprise he probably 
entertained the same doubt accompanied by the same confi- 
dence. One ground of his confidence was the favor with which 
I had always been regarded by the Chinese authorities. Three 
of the ministers I had known before coming to Peking. With 
the others, including Prince Kung, I had become well ac- 
quainted through frequent interviews. In his treatment of 
me, the prince was uncommonly gracious, always taking both 
my hands in his, after the cordial manner of the Tartars, in 
marked contrast with the frigid salute of the Chinese, which 
even between intimate friends consists in each shakin^r his own 



THE TUNG WEN COLLEGE 295 

hands at a respectful distance. Impressed by my acquaintance 
with native authors, Chinese scholarship being more rare among 
foreigners than it is at present, he conferred on me the title of 
Qua f I si — a high-flown literary appellation, by which I have 
since been familiarly known among the Chinese. 

The prime object of the college is to train young men for 
the public service, especially as agents of international inter- 
course. The first suggestion of it (if I may recapitulate its 
earlier history) came from the British treaty, which contains a 
provision that English despatches shall for a period of three 
years be accompanied by a Chinese translation, within which 
time the Chinese government was expected to provide a corps 
of competent interpreters. To meet this obligation, a class in 
English was opened in 1862, and French and Russian classes 
in the year following. As a sample of the way in which many 
things in China have a name to live when they are dead, I may 
mention that this Russian class was not new. It had a record 
as an existing institution dating back to the middle of the eigh- 
teenth century, having been created to meet the exigencies of 
intercourse with Russia in the reign of Kienlung. For many 
years there had been native professors but no students. At 
the time of its incorporation in the School of Interpreters the 
only link connecting it with the past was an old professor who 
knew no Russian. He brought no students and no books, and 
was himself promptly superseded by a native of Russia, leaving 
of the ancient school as its contribution to the common stock 
nothing but a name, or rather no77ii7iis umbra. Yet was that 
shadowy name not wholly devoid of value in a country where 
the most formidable objection is that of innovation. 

The following extract from a memorial of Prince Kung and 
his colleagues, addressed to the throne in October, 1861, throws 
a curious light on the history of the college at this stage of its 
existence, showing what efforts they made to launch the insti- 
tution without the help of foreigners : 



296 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

" In the tenth year of Hienfung (i860) we had the honor to 
lay before the throne a statement of new measures, rendered 
necessary by the events of the late war. Among other things, 
we stated that a knowledge of the character and institutions of 
foreign nations is indispensable to the conduct of intercourse. 
We accordingly requested your Majesty to command the vice- 
roy and governor at Canton and Shanghai to find natives well 
acquainted with foreign letters, and to send them, with a good 
supply of foreign books, to the capital, with a view to the in- 
struction of youth to be chosen from the Eight Banners. 

" The viceroy of Canton reported that there was no man 
whom he could recommend, and the governor of Kiangsu re- 
ported that though one candidate had presented himself, he 
was by no means deeply versed in the subject. 

" This explains the long delay in carrying our plan into exe- 
cution. Your Majesty's servants are penetrated with the con- 
viction that to know the state of the several nations it is neces- 
sary first to understand their language and letters. This is the 
sole means to protect ourselves from becoming the victims of 
crafty imposition. 

" Now these nations at large expense employ natives of 
China to teach them our hterature, and yet China has not a 
man who possesses a ripe knowledge of foreign languages and 
letters— a state of things quite incompatible with a thorough 
knowledge of those countries. 

" As therefore no native candidates were sent up from Can- 
ton and Shanghai, we have no resource but to seek among for- 
eigners for suitable men." 

In the English department the first instructor was Mr. Bur- 
don, now Bishop of Hong Kong. He was succeeded by Dr. 
Fryer, who has since become distinguished as a translator of 
scientific books in connection with the arsenal at Shanghai. 
He resigning, the post was offered to me by recommendation 
of Messrs. Burlingame and Wade, to whom the Yamen applied 



THE TUNG WEN COLLEGE 297 

for advice. The pupils being few and the salary small, I spoke 
slightingly of the position when it was first proposed. " True, 
it is not great," said Burlingame, " but you can make it great," 
a remark that showed how clearly he perceived the possibili- 
ties of the place. 

Prior to this he had conceived the idea of establishing a col- 
lege with the surplus of an indemnity paid for American prop- 
erty destroyed at Canton, and of making me head of it. At 
his request I drew up a plan for the institution, but he failed 
to get the fund, which twenty years later was restored to China, 
and after all deductions amounted to between three and four 
hundred thousand dollars. His own scheme being in abeyance, 
he was glad to find me a place in the educational service of 
the Chinese. 

Selecting a lucky day for the ceremony, Hengki, one of the 
ministers, came to the legation, and in presence of Mr. Bur- 
lingame handed me a letter of appointment from the TsungH 
Yamen. It was on red paper, and, avoiding any allusion to 
pay, stated that the sum of a thousand taels ($1330) per an- 
num would be allowed for "horse and cart, paper and pens." 
Later on my pay, under a new contract, was called an " allow- 
ance for wood and water," though amounting to five times that 
figure. These terms sound whimsical, but do we not forget that 
our word "salary" means an "allowance for salt"? 

In accepting the charge I was careful to stipulate that I 
should give only two hours per diem to my new duties. After 
a few months' experience, seeing no prospect of expansion, I 
begged permission to resign. Instead of acceding to my re- 
quest, two members of the Yamen, Tung, minister of finance, 
and Tan, minister of justice (formerly viceroy), sent for me and 
endeavored to persuade me to withdraw my resignation. 

"Why," they asked, "do you wish to give up your post? 
Is your pay insufficient ? " 

" No," said I, " not for the time I give." 



298 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

" Has any one offended you by a want of respect? " 
" Not in the least ; students and all have been kind and 
courteous." 

" What then is the matter ? Why do you ask to resign? " 
"To be candid," I said, "the care of only ten boys who 
learn nothing but English is for me too small a business. It 
looks like throwing away my time." 

"If that is the ground of your objection," said they, "you 
are mistaken. You will not always be Hmited to ten. Then 
consider the destination of these boys. We are growing old ; 
some of them may be required to take our places. The em- 
peror, too, may feel inclined to learn foreign languages ; who 
knows but some of your students may be called to teach him? " 
A prophetic forecast, as it turned out, that was quite remark- 
able. 

A view so gratifying to one who regards effective influence 
for good as the first object in life decided me to stay, though I 
had gone so far as to offer to find a successor and had spoken 
in that sense to Mr. Goodrich. Goodrich, however, declined 
the place as liable to turn him aside from preaching the gospel. 
1 retained it, as promising to open a field of influence much 
wider than I could find in the wayside chapels of Peking. 
Which was right? Perhaps neither, perhaps both.* 

* Here is a composition of one of my younger students. It is the more 
comical from the evident seriousness of the writer. 

" All the human beings of the various nations throughout the world 
should respect the God ; because he is the source from which the wealth, 
happiness, blessing, etc., are derived, and it is he who gives fortune or 
misfortune to the people. Although people cannot see his appearance, 
yet they should respect him as though he is in the presence before their 
eyes ; because he can secretly give rewards to those who have done good 
deeds, and punishment to those who are bad. On thinking of this, I 
will relate a story in which a man was punished by the God on account 
of his having disobeyed the God's order, and which runs as follows : 
Once a German named Jonah was ordered by the God to go to a certain 



THE TUNG WEN COLLEGE 299 

Besides teaching English to my ten pupils, I gave them les- 
sons in the use and management of the telegraph. With a view 
to the introduction of that wonderful invention, I had myself 
taken lessons in Philadelphia ; and I had brought with me, at 
my own expense, two sets of instruments, one on the Morse 
system, the other with an alphabetic dial-plate, easy to learn 
and striking to the eye. Before taking charge of this class I 
invited the Yamen to send officials to my house to witness ex- 
periments. Prince Kung deputed the four Chinese who were 
aiding me in the revision of Wheaton. During the perform- 
ance they looked on without giving any sign of intelligence or 
interest ; one of them, a Hanlin, or academician, observed con- 
temptuously that " China had been a great empire for four 
thousand years without the telegraph." On being shown a few 
toys they were delighted, spending much time in catching mag- 
netic fish and in leading or chasing magnetic geese, chuckling 



place for preaching, and he promised to do so. Notwithstanding his 
promise, he disobeyed the order, and, instead of going to his destination, 
went to another place by a steamer. During the voyage, a great storm 
suddenly arose, which caused the steamer being unable to go on forth. 
So the Captain said that there must be a bad man among the passengers, 
and lots must be cast in order to point out who is the bad man. After 
this work had been done, it showed that Jonah was a bad man, so the 
Captain asked him what bad action he had done, and he told all what had 
happened to him. According to the usage that Jonah should be thrown 
into the water, but the Captain would not throw him into the water, for if 
he were not to be so done, the vessel would be upset, and all the passengers 
would be imprecated to death. When Jonah threw himself into the sea, 
the storm began to cease, and the vessel went away safely. However, 
Jonah did not get drowned, because when he was throwing himself into 
the water, a whale was opening its mouth, and he just fell into it. He 
lived in the whale's stomach for three days, and afterward when the 
whale breathed the air, he was vomited out alive. Thus he began to offer 
up prayers saying that he would never venture to go against the God's 
wish, and afterward he was saved by a steamer, and went to the place 
appointed to him by the God to preach." 



300 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

all the while over the novelty of the sport. In letters they 
were men, in science children. 

Fearing that the higher ministers might be prejudiced by the 
report of these incompetent witnesses, I offered to bring my in- 
struments to the Yamen for their inspection. They gave me a 
room to set them up, and on the appointed day assembled to 
see the experiments. Everything went off well, the old men 
being almost as childlike as their clerks, only they toyed with 
the telegraph instead of fish and geese, sending bell signals, 
wrapping copper wires about their bodies, breaking or closing 
the circuit, and laughing heartily as they saw sparks leaping 
from wire to wire and setting hammers in motion. The per- 
formance terminated, as usual, with a breakfast, at which Mr. 
Hart, just returned from P^urope, was besides myself the only 
guest. When I told him of the success of the exhibition, he 
remarked dryly, "Every Httle helps." In my opinion it' was 
not a "htde " thing; nor was it a little thing in that of Tung, 
the minister of finance, who came to see the instruments so 
frequently and studied them to such good purpose that he 
learned to send messages. He also assisted me to construct 
an alphabet of initials and finals on such wise that the needle 
would spell a word by pointing to two characters as simply as 
b-a, ba. The grand secretary, Wensiang, also thought my ap- 
paratus worthy of more than one visit. 

For a whole year my instruments remained there, and I re- 
moved them only when I became convinced that there was no 
hope of any immediate result. They are now stored as old 
lumber in the museum of the college. 

In January, 1874, General Rasloff, the envoy of Denmark, 
asked me if I could arrange for some of his people belonging 
to the Great Northern Company to exhibit their instruments 
before the ministers of the Yamen. I invited them to perform 
in our college hall, and asked the ministers to be present. 
Their apparatus was elegant, but the Chinese ministers were 



THE TUNG WEN COLLEGE 301 

less impressed by it than by a very simple telegraph made 
entirely of native materials by our own students. It worked 
well, and the Danish officers looked on it and its operators as 
Moses and Aaron must have looked on Jannes and Jambres, 
their competitors in thaumaturgy. 

A few years later I fell into conversation one day with a 
hard-fisted peasant, who was cultivating a stony field high up 
on the western hills. " Why do you foreigners not take the 
empire? " he asked. " Do you think we could? " I inquired in 
return. " Certainly," he replied, pointing to a line of telegraph 
stretching across the plain below — "the men who made that 
are able to take possession of the empire." His brain had not 
been addled by an overdose of Chinese classics ; and China is 
full of such men, but unhappily they are under the heel of the 
literati. 

But we are anticipating. There was as yet no " hall," no col- 
lege ; only a school of interpreters, and nothing more. That 
school was the germ of the expanded institution. It was installed 
in spare buildings attached to the Yamen ; its name, Tung- 
wen Kwan, which the college still retains, signifies " School of 
Combined Learning " ; and the time had come when Chinese 
statesmen felt the need of other kinds of learning besides lan- 
guages. 

In 1865 it was resolved to raise the school of interpreters to 
the rank of a college by adding a scientific department and ad- 
mitting students of high attainments in Chinese learning. The 
scope and motives of this undertaking are set forth in two 
memorials by the prince and ministers. 

In the first they say : 

"The school has now been in operation nearly five years^ 
and the students have made fair progress in the languages and 
letters of the West. Being, however, very young, and imper- 
fectly acquainted with the letters of their own country, their 
time is unavoidably divided between Chinese and foreign 



30 2 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

Studies. Should we, in addition, require them to take up 
astronomy and mathematics, we fear they would not succeed 
in acquiring more than a smattering of anything. 

" The machinery of the West, its steamers, its firearms, and its 
military tactics, all have their source in mathematical science. 
Now at Shanghai and elsewhere the building of steamers has 
been commenced ; but we fear that if we are content with a 
superficial knowledge, and do not go to the root of the mat- 
ter, such efforts will not issue in solid success. 

" Your Majesty's servants have accordingly to propose, after 
mature deliberation, that an additional department shall be 
established, into which none shall be admitted but those who 
are over twenty years of age, having previously gained a de- 
gree in Chinese learning. For we are convinced that if we 
are able to master the mysteries of mathematical calculation, 
physical investigation, astronomical observation, the construc- 
tion of engines, the engineering of watercourses, this, and 
only this, will assure the steady growth of the power of the 
empire." 

No sooner were these proposals laid before the throne than 
they were made a target for bitter attack by mandarins of the 
old school. A second memorial replies to these objectors. In 
both the prevision and breadth of view are truly admirable ; 
but how lamentable that men of such intelligence should be 
forced by national bigotry to repudiate all sympathy with the 
civilization of the West! 

Defending their action in the later memorial (1866), they 
say : 

" We have now to explain that in proposing these measures 
we have neither been influenced by a love of novelty nor fas- 
cinated by the arts of the West, but actuated solely by the 
consideration that to attempt to introduce the arts without the 
sciences would be likely to prove an abortive and useless ex- 
penditure of pubhc funds. Those who criticize this proceed- 



THE TUNG WEN COLLEGE 303 

ing object that it is at present not an affair of urgent necessity ; 
that we are wrong in renouncing our own methods to follow 
those of the West ; or, finally, that it would be a deep disgrace 
for China to become the pupil of the West. 

" Now not only do the nations of the West learn from each 
other the new things that are daily produced, but Japan in the 
Eastern seas has recently sent men to England to learn the lan- 
guage and science of that country. When a small nation like 
Japan knows how to enter on a career of progress, what could 
be a greater disgrace than for China to adhere to her old tra- 
ditions and never think of waking up? " * 

Besides suggesting sundry other regulations for the new en- 
terprise they conclude by proposing that the cadets of the Im- 
perial Academy (the Hanlin), "being distinguished for liter- 
ary attainments and but slightly burdened with official duties, 
shall be required to enter the Tungwen College and prosecute 
the study of science, which it is certain they would find a mat- 
ter of easy acquisition." 

In the spring of 1866 Mr. Hart made a hasty trip to Europe 
with two great objects in view. One was to engage professors ; 
what the other was may be inferred from the fact that he 
brought back a lady who was rich— in personal attractions. In 
the former, as might have been predicted, he was less fortu- 
nate. Of the five men brought out one died on arrival, another 
was forced by mortal disease to leave Peking before entering 
on his duties, two proved recalcitrant, and likewise found early 
graves. The only exception to this series of fatalities was 
Monsieur Billequin, who has just passed away at Paris after 
a quarter of a century of distinguished service. To him 
more than to any other belongs the honor of introducing 
our modem chemical science into China, the home of ancient 
alchemy. 

* Beginning thus early to be influenced by the example of Japan, what a 
pity the Chinese have been so slow to follow it up! 



304 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

A special interest attaches to the case of Johannes von 
Giimpach, who was engaged as professor of astronomy. He 
was a German, calHng himself " baron " and posing as a man 
of mark and merit in the world of science. As to his merit, 
the best testimony is that of Professor Fritsche, of the Russian 
observatory, who said to me, Philolog vielkicht er sei; Astronom 
ist er nicht (" Philologist perhaps he is ; astronomer he is not "). 
What mark he enjoyed was in the character of an Ishmaelite, 
whose attitude is opposition and his element controversy. 
What contributed most to his notoriety was his announced de- 
termination to overthrow the Newtonian theory of gravitation 
— for attraction substituting the pressure of space, which he 
defined as " the unagglomerated or unitary portion of the cos- 
mos." The earth, he asserted, is not like an orange, but like 
a lemon, i.e., a prolate instead of an oblate spheroid. In the- 
ology he was a pantheist, believing, as Dr. AViUiams phrased it, 
" that there was not enough of God in any one place to hurt 
him " — a view which in these days would hardly suffice to make 
him singular. Many other strange notions he held, which, Hke 
the electric spark, only required the approach of an opposite to 
leap forth. One day in summer he was on his way to Patachu, 
when his cart, laden with books, was swept away by a torrent 
caused by a sudden shower, the subsiding waters leaving books 
and manuscripts as landmarks for miles on both sides of the road. 
When I condoled with him he exclaimed, "Ah, that water! 
It has lost me the labor of twenty years and prolonged the 
reign of Newton perhaps for centuries." Yes ; perhaps for cen- 
turies another Gumpach may not appear! During my absence 
in the United States he was dismissed for refusing to accept 
the duty assigned him — that of teaching mathematics. My ap- 
pointment to the presidency, a position to which he had aspired, 
supplied him with a fresh grievance, and he posted away to 
Shanghai to prosecute Mr. Hart for breach of contract. A 
Shanghai jury gave him eighteen hundred pounds damages, 



THE rUNGWEN COLLEGE 



305 



but that judgment was reversed by the privy council on appeal, 
and after dragging out a precarious existence for a few years 
without employment he died in a state of extreme destitution. 
With all his eccentricity he was a man of quick wit and varied 
acquirements. His weakest point was the desire to get a liv- 
ing without having earned it. 




PRINTING WITH BLOCK AND BRUSH. (SEE PAGE 308.) 



CHAPTER VII 

THE TUNGWEN COLLEGE {^Continued) 

Cradle of an empress— Our college press— Two observatories and two 
astronomies— Opposition to the college— Superstition in high places 
—Old students— The emperor learning English— Official appoint- 
ments — Introduction of science into examinations for civil service 
—Translation of books— Medical class and Chinese medicine- 
Wedded to ceremony— General Grant's visit— Religious impressions. 

A ROM ANTIC story is connected with the site of the col- 
lege. The property formerly belonged to Saishanga, a 
prime minister of Mongol extraction. It was confiscated when 
he was thrown into prison for ill success against the Taiping 
rebels. His son, Chungche, a Master of Arts, begged to share 
his captivity. The old general died in disgrace, but days of 
glory were in store for his family, a reward, as is generally be- 
lieved, of filial piety. The devoted son, winning the third de- 
gree, was examined in presence of the emperor, and his name 
marked by the ** vermilion pencil " as Chuatig Yuen, or scholar 
laureate of the empire. • Never before had the first of literary 
honors fallen to the lot of a Tartar bannerman. So high is the 
distinction that his daughter, the Lady Aleuta, a maiden of 
great accomplishments, was selected by the empress regent as 
a fit consort for the young emperor. Brief, however, was her 
enjoyment of imperial grandeur, for the untimely death of her 
lord led her to commit suttee by starvation. Her father, who 
was raised to a dukedom, still Hves. He was born in those 

306 



THE TUNG WEN COLLEGE 



307 



buildings, and it is believed that the hapless empress was also 
born there. 

In 1866 new buildings were erected in anticipation of the 
arrival of new professors, and others have since been added. 
They are of one story, in the regulation style of Peking, with 
tile floors and little orna- 
ment. Each principal 
building has in front of 
it a paved court, flanked 
by smaller houses or 
wings. The entire space 
is occupied by seven 
such quadrangles and 
two rows of low houses, 
which, together with the 
wings, furnish accommo- 
dation for such of our 
students as are allowed 
to lodge within the gates, 
as well as for a corps of 
college servants, thirty 
or forty in number.* 
The whole group resembles a barrack, or rather a camp. 

In the pubHc buildings of the Chinese, their palaces excepted, 
there is nothing imposing. Even the Hanlin Yuen, the head- 
quarters of the Imperial Academy, is a poor structure, its great- 
ness being in the institution, not in the architecture. Our press 
building and observatory are deserving of notice, aside from 




BARBER SHAVING STUDENT S HEAD. 



* These are " hereditary slaves of the palace," and form an aristocratic 
appendage — keeping before the eyes of our students an instructive illus- 
tration of the evils of idleness and ignorance. A mild kind of slavery 
exists in China, the poor being allowed to sell themselves or their children. 
The rights of slaves are defined by law, and moral teaching does much 
tQ humanize the " peculiar institution," 



3o8 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

their style. In the art of printing, which has effected such a 
revolution in the social condition of mankind by cheapening 
books and diffusing knowledge, China led the way by her sys- 
tem of block-cutting, or stereotyping on wood. Invented in 
the eighth century, some intimation of it must have been con- 
veyed to Europe by the Polos or others in the thirteenth, if not 
earlier, suggesting, probably, Gutenberg's invention of printing 
with movable types. In China the idea of divisible type was 
not unknown ; but attempts to embody it in clay or porcelain 
were failures, and no experiment of type-casting in metal is on 
record. An effort to produce metal types, not by casting, but 
by engraving on cubes of copper, was made in the reign of 
Kanghi, long after Gutenberg; but the copper proved too 
tempting to light-fingered compositors, and when Kanghi's 
grandson desired to print the Tus/iu, an encyclopedic collec- 
tion of Chinese hterature, the costly font was found too incom- 
plete for use. 

At present metallic types are in extensive use, but all the 
fonts came from matrices made by foreigners, mostly mission- 

, ' aries. A mission press belonging to the American Board was 
in operation in Peking before the opening of our college, and 
there our examination papers were printed. The grand secre- 
tary, Wensiang, admiring their neatness and the expedition of 
the process, I gave him a handful of types sent me by their 
maker, Mr. Gamble, a mission printer in Shanghai. These 
were the seeds from which sprang our printing-office, where 
books have been printed for the emperor as well as for the col- 
lege, the old printing-office of the emperors having been recently 
burned. When I suggested that we should have a small plant 
for college use, he asked me for an estimate of the cost, and 

\ requested Mr. Hart to procure three times the amount. The 
whole cargo was dumped promiscuously into a poor shed in a 
vacant lot, where it was impossible to make it work. On my 
pointing this out, he gave me no immediate answer, but sent 



THE TUNG WEN COLLEGE 309 

me a day or two later a lot of workmen with a message to put 
up such a building as I thought proper. The ground required 
filling, and for that I wished to use rubbish which in the course 
of ages had formed a hillock within the college grounds. The 
Yamen objected that its removal would injure ihe fungs/iui, or 
luck, of the locahty ; so that httle hill still continues to attract 
good influences impartially to the halls of science and to the 
chambers of diplomacy. Strange compound of conservatism 
and progress! 

In the matter of an observatory it was not so easy to induce 
the Yamen to take action. It might collide with the preroga- 
tives of the Board of Astronomy, an antiquated corporation 
which claims a monopoly of the heavens because it already 
possesses an observatory — where, however, nothing is observed 
except eclipses, the observance (not observation) consisting in 
burning incense and beating tam-tams to frighten away a vora- 
cious dragon. That establishment was erected under the direc- 
tion of the eminent Jesuits, Schaal and Verbiest, and equipped 
with apparatus, usual in that day, wrought in bronze by Chi- 
nese workmen from their designs. Globe, azimuth, quadrant, 
armillary spheres, have been standing on a terrace on the city 
wall for two hundred years, exposed to all weathers ; yet they 
look as fresh as if of yesterday. Visited of all visitors as mar- 
vels of metallurgy, they are utterly useless for any practical 
purpose. No telescope is found among them, nor is it likely 
that anything of the kind was ever used by the missionaries, 
though Galileo's great invention had been known to the world 
for more than a century. Did the church which condemned 
the doctrines of Galileo discourage the use of his telescope ? 
Certain it is that those worthy men, so distinguished for ability 
and learning, persisted in making the earth the hub of the uni- 
verse, and rejected the system of Copernicus, which Galileo 
was punished for propagating. 

The plea for a new observatory to go along with the new 



3IO A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

astronomy required little argument. The Yamen admitted its 
necessity and promised that we should have it as soon as a 
suitable site could be fixed upon. Several sites were proposed, 
but in each case the earth-spirits (fungshui), like the Titans of 
old, made war on heaven, and it was nearly twenty years be- 
fore we obtained a site free from objection. In 1888, under 
a new ministry, the signs were interpreted more liberally, and 
the long-desired edifice was authorized, with a Hmit of three 
stories in height. That, however, was high enough to make 
property cheap in the neighborhood. If it had been built by 
missionaries a mob would have torn it down ; but, sanctioned 
as it was by supreme authority, they silently shook their fists 
and moved away. 

One of the best products of our astronomical department is 
an abridged translation of the nautical almanac. It is eagerly 
sought by the old Board of Astronomy for comparison with 
their own calendar, which continues to be the official standard. 
The latter indeed possesses a value to which our science makes 
no pretension, viz., a careful discrimination, on principles un- 
known to us, of the good or evil influences of the stars, result- 
ing in a division of days into lucky and unlucky. All this is 
given out by imperial authority, and the people conform to it. 
No man thinks of beginning a journey, laying a corner-stone, 
planting a tree, marrying a wife, burying a parent, or any of a 
thousand functions in public or private life, without consulting 
this convenient oracle. The late archimandrite Palladius told 
me that he found this calendar useful, as it enabled him to 
select an unlucky day for his visits to the Russian legation, four 
miles distant, when he was sure to find the streets unobstructed 
by marriages or funerals. Apropos of the calendar, a native 
writer gives us the following piece of satire. A young man, 
hearing a cry of distress, ran to the rescue and found his father 
buried under the ruins of a fallen wall. " Be patient, my father," 
he said ; " you have always taught me to do nothing without 



THE TUNG WEN COLLEGE 31 1 

consulting the almanac. Just wait a bit until I see whether 
this is a suitable day for moving bricks." 

In the old observatory astrology still reigns, and all China 
is subject to her sway. 

Of our professors nine are foreigners, namely : 

W. A. P. Martin, D.D., LL.D., President, and Professor of 
International Law (State University, Indiana, U. S. A.) ; 

C. H. Oliver, M.A., Vice-President,* and Professor of 
Physics (Queen's College, Belfast, Ireland) ; 

J. Dudgeon, M.D., Professor of Anatomy and Physiology 
(University of Edinburgh, Scotland) ; 

S. M. Russell, M.A., Professor of Astronomy (Queen's 
College, Belfast, Ireland) ; 

Carl Stuhlmann, Ph.D., Professor of Chemistry and Min- 
eralogy (Hamburg, Germany) ; 

Monsieur Ch. Vapereau, Professor of French Language 
and Literature (Paris, France) ; 

Herr V. von Grot, Professor of Russian (Novgorod, 
Russia) ; 

Herr A. H. Wilzer, Professor of German (Saxony) ; 

W. MacDonald, B.Sc, Professor of English (Dingwall, 
Scotland). 

In addition to these there are four native professors, of 
whom three teach Chinese and one mathematics. 

Our students — all on paid scholarships — are limited to one 
hundred and twenty. They are of two sorts — those who begin 
with languages, and those who begin with sciences. The former 
are drawn from the Bannermen of Peking, and as a rule come 
to the study of a foreign language with but little knowledge of 
their own. The other division contains both Chinese and Tar- 
tars, and their literary standing must be sufficient to admit them 
to examinations for the civil service. Among them are found 
all three of the regular degrees, and many who came with the 

* Now president. 



312 



A CYCLE OF CATHAY 



lowest degree have while in the college succeeded in winning 
the highest. One, Mr, Wang Fungtsao, has plucked the bright 
honor of a membership in the Imperial Academy. The college 
is accordingly regarded with much respect by the literati, and 
students from the best families are anxious to enter. This was 
not the case at first. The call for cadets from the Hanhn 
Academy was viewed as an indignity to Chinese learning ; and 




PROFESSOR LI AND HIS MATHEMATICAL CLASS.*' 



Wojin, president of the academy, protested so energetically as 
to keep them away. Nor did the enmity of Wojin stop here. 
During a severe drought, which occurred soon after my return 
to China, he instigated one of the censors to denounce the col- 
lege as the cause of the calamity, an abomination which must 
be removed before the clouds would send down their showers. 
Prince Kung, who detected the face of Wojin behind the 
mask, induced the emperor to issue a decree censuring him for 
" nonsensical babbling," and authorizing him to establish a col- 
lege to be conducted on his own principles in competition with 
the Tungwen. Not only did the old chauvinist dechne the 
* For an account of Professor Li, see Part IL, Chapter IX. 



THE TUNG WEN COLLEGE 313 

challenge, knowing that the " native men of science," of whom 
he had boasted, were figures of speech, but he refused a seat 
in the Tsungli Yamen, which the prince offered him as a 
means of education, because it would bring him in contact with 
people whom he never called by any other name than ya?ig 
kwetsze (" foreign devils "). 

It was no small triumph for the college to survive an attack 
led on by the champion of the literati, aided by such portents 
as they were able to evoke from the discord of elements. How 
susceptible the Chinese are to such arguments may be inferred 
from the fact that the emperor is held responsible for the course 
of nature as well as for the order of his people. Calamities, 
from whatever cause, are charged to his account. Even eclipses 
of the sun and moon are taken as indicating that there is some- 
thing wrong in his conduct, or in that of his consort. How 
much the teachings of science are needed to cure superstition 
in high places may be seen by an incident that occurred some 
years later. Prayers, in which the emperor takes the lead, 
having failed to procure rain, a wise man suggested that the 
drought was caused by a tiger, who controls the winds, getting 
the better of a dragon, who rules the clouds. " If," said he, 
" your Majesty will order a tiger to be thrown into the sacred 
pool, that will give the dragon the upper hand, and we shall 
have rain." By the emperor's order they threw into the pool 
a skeleton of a tiger, which was easier to get and safer to han- 
dle than the living beast. It was bought cheap, as an article 
not much in demand in time of peace — tigers' bones being sold 
by apothecaries as a specific for the imparting of courage. By 
the irony of fate, it devolved on Prince Kung and Wensiang, 
the protagonists of progress, to carry into effect this pitiful piece 
of imperial humbug. 

I was once called on by Wang Wenshao, an eminent mem- 
ber of the Yamen, to explain the appearance of a comet, which 
had suddenly confronted him in a menacing manner as he was 



314 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

going to the palace in the early morning. Apprehensive of 
some dire calamity, my arguments gave him but little comfort, 
and when three days later he was denounced for complicity in 
a fraud on the treasury, he was convinced that the comet fore- 
shadowed his downfall. Though himself free from guilt, he 
was held responsible for the acts of others, and had to retire 
for a time from the public service. He is the successor of Li 
Hung Chang in the viceroyalty of Chihli. 

Quick of apprehension and patient in application, Chinese 
students succeed well in scientific studies. They have always 
shown a marked preference for chemistry, perhaps because it 
is the offspring of Chinese alchemy, of which they have read 
so much in native literature. One day, after the close of a 
chemical lecture, a member of the class was discovered to be 
on fire. Out of zeal for science he had purloined a stick of 
phosphorus and secreted it in his vest-pocket. It proved more 
difficult to conceal than the Spartan's fox. In languages they 
are not so ready, owing, perhaps, to the peculiarity of their 
own, which has no alphabet, no gender, number, or tense, and 
a very narrow range of syllabic sounds. We accordingly never 
require a student to apply himself to more than one foreign 
language, and for them the mastery of one is a rare attainment. 
The four schools, English, French, Russian, and German, are 
therefore supplied with distinct sets of students. The full course 
(of sciences and one language) extends over eight years. Di- 
plomas are not given, as in Western colleges, but those who are 
distinguished for proficiency are rewarded by mandarin rank. 
This is conferred once in three years after a takao, or great ex- 
amination. In the annual, quarterly, and monthly examinations 
money prizes are given amounting to one thousand dollars per 
annum. There are four proctors who attend to the temporal- 
ities and assist in governing the students. 

The maintenance of discipline is not difficult, owing partly to 
a habit of respectful submission inculcated at home, partly to a 



THE TUNG WEN COLLEGE 315 

quiet, unexcitable temperament. During the five and twenty 
years of my administration we encountered no turbulent out- 
break, though in one instance I was met by the silent opposition 
of the whole body. A lad who had been to Europe and spoke 
French was admitted, in the hope that he would help the students 
of the French department in speaking the language. Imagine 
my surprise to find that not a student would speak to him. He 
had been a servant in the French legation. Menial servants 
and their children for three generations are by law excluded 
from the civil service. It was a mortal wound to the pride of 
our young Tartars to have a lackey thrust into their midst as 
their fellow and equal. Fortunately, to relieve the stress I 
found a good pretext for dismissing him. His father (by adop- 
tion) complained to me that the young man, though receiving 
an allowance of thirteen dollars per mensem, an ample income 
for a poor family, had given him no share of it. He was un- 
filial ; whatever his talents, without fihal piety he could not be 
retained. The soi-disant father was sorry that he had made 
complaint. 

At the opening of the college prior to my presidency a good 
deal of sport was made of certain " frisky lads of forty " who 
were expected to learn foreign languages. Most of those " old 
fellows " were speedily extinguished, leaving only half a dozen 
of the more diligent. Seeing one of them leading a pretty 
child one day in the street, I inquired, "Is he your son?" 
" My grandson," he answered, with a smile. 

Among our students marriage is the rule, instead of being, 
as in American colleges, a rare exception. Asking a beardless 
youth why he looked so sad, " I beg your pardon, sir," he re- 
plied, "but my son is dead." By the way, they are all beard- 
less until they become grandsires or are old enough to be such. 
Confucius twice had a father and son among his disciples, and 
in two instances we have had the Hke among our students. In 
the examinations for the civil service three generations, perhaps 



3i6 



A CYCLE OF CATHAY 



' four, may be seen together in competition. As a candidate is 
never superannuated, it is not an uncommon thing to win a 
degree at sixty or upward. Even when conscious of failing 
powers an old scholar will persist in the race, "faint yet 

pursuing," assured that 
at last the coveted de- 
gree will be conferred as 
the reward of patience, 
if not for literary merit. 
Such honorary degrees 
I have known to be 
conferred by imperial 
decree at the age of 
ninety-six. 

Those who hav^ 
served a term or two 
in diplomatic or con- 
sular employ are per- 
mitted to reenter the 
college and revive their 
studies while waiting for 
a new appointment. They are usually given the charge of a 
class, with the title of tutor, or employed as official translators. 
About four years ago two such alumni, Messrs. Chang and 
Shen, returning from abroad, were, in fulfilment of Tung's 
prophecy, appointed to give English lessons to his Majesty, 
Kwangsii. To show them honor as his teachers, the emperor 
permitted them to sit in his presence while princes and other 
grandees were kneeling. The importance of attitude may be 
illustrated by a dispute between a barber and a chiropodist. 
" You should treat me with more respect," said the former, 
''because my business has to do with the head and yours with 
the feet." " On the contrary, you ought to rise up before 
me," said the latter, "as you have to stand before or behind 




CHANG TOYI, ENGLISH TUTOR TO THE 
EMPEROR (summer DRESS). 



THE TUNG WEN COLLEGE 317 

your humblest customer, while I am allowed to sit even in the 
presence of majesty." 

As the half-hour for the lesson was about 4 a.m. the teachers 
had to start for the palace shortly after midnight and wait some- 
times for hours — a duty so fatiguing that they obtained per- 
mission to divide the burden. The Emperor of China is probably 
the only man who ever had two professors at one lesson. The 
dual system may do for dignity, but it has its inconveniences. 
One of the tutors complained to me one day that the other had 
pulled his sleeve and corrected him in the pronunciation of a 
word. I warned them that where doctors disagree the conse- 
quences are always bad, especially where the pupil is an em- 
peror. 

For a long time their august pupil was very punctual, rarely 
losing a day, and showing considerable aptitude for reading and 
writing. In speaking he was not at all proficient ; how could 
he be when his teachers never dared to correct his mistakes? 
All conversational exercises were given him in writing, and 
by him copied out, his teachers previously bringing them to 
me for approval. Besides Chinese, an emperor always studies 
Manchu and Mongohan. His people are not therefore greatly 
surprised at his taking up English, though they regard it as an 
act of sublime condescension. 

There was a rush to learn English when the emperor first 
began, princes and ministers of the presence applying for books 
and instruction. Their zeal flagged, and the emperor's too, 
when the foreign envoys declined a New-Year's audience, for 
which his Majesty was preparing a speech in English. 

The venerable student above spoken of as a grandfather 
eventually obtained the governorship of a city. Many of our 
students get similar positions. Some have been transferred to 
a military school, of which two are directors, and some have 
entered the telegraph service ; but the best of our graduates 
find employment in the diplomatic and consular services. Sev- 



3^8 



A CYCLE OF CATHAY 



eral have risen to the rank of consul-general and charge d'af- 
faires. One — the academician— has had the honor of repre- 
senting his sovereign at a foreign court.* During the war with 
France one was sent to Canton as military engineer because he 

knew how to calculate the 
path of a projectile — a 
fact which, like a flash in 
the dark, reveals two 
things : the poverty of 
trained officers, and the 
hazy ideas of the higher 
authorities. 

The indirect influence 
of the college on the lead- 
ing officials of the empire, 
and through them on the 
institutions of the coun- 
try, has not been incon- 
siderable. Its principal 
achievement in the last- 
named direction is the 
introduction (though lim- 
ited) of science into the 
civil-service examinations. This measure, decreed in 1887, 
had been under deliberation for twenty years ; governors and 
viceroys had recommended it. but it was not adopted until 
the government obtained, through our college, some concep- 
tion of the nature and scope of modern science. 

The papers of successful candidates in the provinces are sent 
up to the Tsungli Yamen for reference to the college, and those 
who attain the third, or highest, of the regular degrees (the 
doctorate) are made fellows in the Tungwen College, giving it 
the status of a national university. 

* As minister to Japan before the w^r. 



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MR. SHEN TOH, ENGLISH TUTOR TO THE 
EMPEROR (winter DRESS). 



THE TUNG WEN COLLEGE 319 

Again and again had I represented to the cabinet ministers 
the desirabihty of engrafting science on the civil-service exami- 
nations. The grand secretary, Paoyun, rephed that it would 
be easy if once decided on. " If we could only reverse the 
order of the three trials, making the third first, the work would 
be done." The third is nominally devoted to science, but so 
much neglected is it that it has little or no influence on the 
success of the candidate. Another grand secretary, Shen- 
kwefen, said in answer to my advice to open schools for science 
in the provinces, " We shall some day open the civil-service ex- 
aminations to the sciences. Students will then find masters for 
themselves just as they do in their literary studies, in which the 
government rewards proficiency but does not provide schools." 

In two instances provincial superintendents of education 
made attempts to introduce the study of mathematics with- 
out waiting for orders from the throne. As early as 1874 
Tufamen, the " grandfather " above referred to, accompanied 
a superintendent to Hunan as examiner for mathematics, but 
no candidates offered. In 1885 a call for mathematical papers 
was sent out by the superintendent of education in Shantung, 
and a few were received ; but nothing short of an imperial de- 
cree could turn the mind of the empire into a new channel. In 
this case the measure is so cautiously guarded that the most 
conservative can hardly object to it, and yet it admits the edge 
of the wedge. In the end it is sure to bring about an intellec- 
tual revolution. 

The object of the college in its primary stage was, as we 
have said, to supply interpreters ; but from oral interpretation 
to the higher function of interpreting the literature of one peo- 
ple for the benefit of another is a natural and almost a neces- 
sary step. When I took charge I organized a corps of trans- 
lators, consisting of professors and advanced students. It was 
approved by the Yamen, and provision was made for reward- 
ing the dihgent and successful, 



320 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

The works translated comprise, not to mention many others, 
such subjects as international law, pohtical economy, chemis- 
try, natural philosophy, physical geography, history, French and 
English codes of law, anatomy, physiology, materia medica, 
diplomatic and consular guides, etc., most of which have been 
issued from the college press for gratuitous distribution among 
the officials of the empire. Such works are a lever which, with 
such a fulcrum, must move something. If the creator of a 
science bores an artesian well, does not the translator lay the 
pipes for irrigation? 

Many years ago we formed a medical class, which was 
placed under Dr. Dudgeon, of the London Mission, who was 
and continues to be the best-known practitioner in the north- 
ern capital. Laboring, like most medical missionaries, chiefly 
for the impecunious, the doors of palaces are also open to him. 
Aequo pulsat pcde regum turres, Pafipcrumqiie taber?ias {absit 
omen!). The Yamen gave him, as I proposed, the title of pro- 
fessor, and invited him to lecture, but refused to permit our 
students to receive clinical instruction at the mission hospital. 
Ten years were thus lost, the lectures amounting to nothing 
more than the communication of ideas such as ought to form 
a part of a liberal education. A change of ministry occurring, 
I again proposed that the class should receive practical instruc- 
tion at the hospital. The new ministers consented, but they 
dechned to expand the class into a medical school for fear of 
encroaching on the domain of the Tai-i-Yuen, an effete col- 
lege of medicine which has charge of the emperor's health and 
is supposed to possess a monopoly of medical science. "The 
fact is," said a leading minister, " I do not myself beheve in 
foreign medicine." Hence the want of any provision for 
the sick and wounded in the late war, a want which had 
something to do with the shameful discomfiture of the Chinese 
troops. 

Of all the sciences, that which he calls " foreign medicine " 



THE TUNG WEN COLLEGE 321 

is destined to effect the speediest conquest. Like telegraph 
and railway, war will compel its adoption. Soldiers who when 
wounded are left to perish will not take any risks, especially 
since Confucius lays it down as the " first of duties to return 
your body to earth complete as it came from your mother." 

The viceroy Li, who does believe in foreign medicine, opened 
a school for military surgery two years ago— too late, however, 
to be of much service in the war with Japan, Native practi- 
tioners cover all sorts of wounds with plasters; they never 
amputate, probably out of deference to the above-cited maxim 
of their Sage, which requires a soldier to bring home a whole 
skin. For the same reason they never dissect a human subject, 
and scarcely know the position of the greater viscera. Yet to 
cure certain diseases they do not hesitate to drive a needle 
through the body where it is liable to encounter vital organs. 
If the patient dies he has the consolation of dying entire. In 
the treatment of medical diseases an experience of millenniums 
must have hit on a number of useful remedies by haphazard 
if not by research or science, but most of their medicines are 
inert and some of them inexpressibly disgusting. 

Similia similibus curantiir is with them an old saw. A writer 
in my employ, who was suffering from the itch, calcined a toad 
and drank the ashes— it being prescribed probably because its 
warty skin bears some resemblance to the disease. When I 
was weakened by an obstinate cough one of my students pre- 
sented me with a pair of bear's paws, assuring me that they 
are a sovereign remedy to restore strength. For rheumatism 
he would have given me pills made of the sinews of a deer. 
" Poison cures poison " is another of their therapeutic laws, 
which places many a life in jeopardy. Hence serpents and 
insects that are the most venomous are the most prized. Of 
this assertion the apologue of the " snake-catcher " * is part 
proof, and for the other part I have had ocular evidence, hav- 

* See Chapter VIII. 



32 2 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

ing seen them catching scorpions for medicine with lanterns 
at night among the ruins of old houses. " Dried scorpions" 
appear in the customs returns of Tientsin, whence they are ex- 
ported, not to foreign countries, but to other parts of China. 

They have a queer way of classifying diseases according to 
the five elements. A writer attached to the United States lega- 
tion, being taken with fever in one of our expeditions to the 
North, said that it was caused by " too much wood," and that 
the best remedy would be " earth." In fact, was he not suf- 
fering from Hfe on shipboard? and would he not be cured by 
life on land? 

For extreme cases they have great faith in medicines derived 
from the human body. According to Dr. IMacgowan, no less 
than thirty-two of its parts or products enter into the materia 
medica of the Chinese. The brain, eyes, gall, Hver, are spe- 
cially sought for ; and a frightful massacre of foreigners was 
once caused by a rumor that sisters of charity were decoying 
little children to be made into medicine. Nor is this merely 
a superstition of the vulgar. A governor of Jehol (brother of 
the well-known Chunghau) reported to the throne that a vaga- 
bond being detected in stealing children's eyes to make into 
medicine, he had caused him to be summarily decapitated. 
Some of these drugs are used for magical purposes, for in 
China magic and medicine go hand in hand. Medical mis- 
sions are doing much to dispel a superstition so dangerous to 
the peace of society. They are also striving to raise up a 
native faculty to supersede the quackery of the old school. 

Though claiming superiority in the realm of " internal dis- 
ease," the Chinese are ready enough to concede our skill in 
"external " or surgical cases. I was once teUing a number of 
mandarins of a marvelous operation performed by Dr. Dudgeon 
in removing a tumor from a young man's throat. " Oh yes," 
said the grand secretary, Shen, " I know all about that ; the 
patient was my cousin." 



THE TUNG WEN COLLEGE 323 

Ceremony, not enjoined but spontaneous, was a large ele- 
ment in our college life. After a vacation each division, clad 
in festive robes, made a salaam to their own instructor, and all 
to the president. After leave of absence, long or short, each 
student came to make his salaam, and the same in more elab- 
orate fashion on being advanced on the pay-roll or promoted 
in the mandarinic scale. 

The most ceremonious people on earth are the Chinese. 
Their "ancient kings," so the books say, "shook their robes 
and kept the world in order " — a display of gorgeous vestments 
and scenic rites impressing their vassals with religious awe. 
Nor is the ceremonial of a court function less imposing at the 
present day. 

Ceremony as an instrument of government runs through the 
whole framework of society. One of the six departments of 
state is a board of rites. It includes the duties of a ministry 
of worship and education, but questions of state ceremony and 
official etiquette form the subject of its gravest deliberations. 
On such occasions as imperial funerals or marriages, it issues 
a program, extending to the size of a volume. That of the 
sixtieth anniversary of the empress dowager filled two such 
volumes, covered with red satin, the festive color. 

A book containing three thousand rules of etiquette is studied 
at school, so that a well-bred lad always knows how to do the 
right thing at the right time. He is never embarrassed, but goes 
through the prescribed forms as a soldier does his drill. For each 
occasion he has a special dress. On the death of a parent he 
puts on white, unbleached, unadorned, but he restrains his grief 
until the robe is properly adjusted— and then he howls. If he 
chance to meet you on New- Year's morning he offers no salu- 
tation unless he happens to be in proper costume, apologizing, 
and promising to come for the purpose suitably attired, inform- 
ing you even whose robes he expects to borrow. Robes of 
ceremony are hired for the occasion, and often do duty for 



324 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

more than one individual. Two or more drive in one cart from 
house to house, one going in and making his obeisance in full 
dress, while the others wait their turn at the door. You are 
amused to see the same tasseled cap and robe of sable reap- 
pear at intervals of a few minutes with different face and figure. 

The first of the three thousand rules is, " Let your face and 
attitude be grave and thoughtful ; " the second, " Let your 
steps be deliberate and regular." Our students, accordingly, 
deem it undignified to engage in gymnastics, a slow, solemn 
walk being the only exercise they can be induced to take. For 
them there are no rough-and-tumble games like foot-ball or 
cricket. Another rule says, " If rain is coming take it, but do 
not quicken your pace." A scholar who prided himself on his 
dignity of carriage once jumped a brook to escape a shower ; 
when finding that a boy had witnessed his performance, he 
gave him a piece of money and exacted a promise of secrecy. 
Dignity of carriage is enforced by a costume that impedes 
motion. A company of civil mandarins, with satin boots, em- 
broidered vest, cap adorned with a peacock's plume, and 
button distinctive of rank, would make a sensation in the 
gayest court of Europe. 

Among our students all the nine grades are represented ex- 
cept the first. As they keep their caps on instead of holding 
them in the lap or stufifing them in their pockets, the hall, filled 
with one hundred and twenty students on some state occasion, 
presents a decidedly respectable appearance. 

Of the gala displays that have occurred in the history of the 
college none has been more worthy of note than the visit of 
General Grant in 1878. The college being attached to the 
Yamen (not as Thomson, an English traveler, has it, "the 
Yamen within the gates of the college "), it was arranged that 
this visit should follow his reception by Prince Kung, who 
escorted the general to the college gate. Our students, in fes- 
tive costume, looked well as they rose to receive our illustrious 



THE TUNG WEN COLLEGE 325 

visitor. One of them read on their behalf an address com- 
posed by himself, and .presented a handsome fan as a souvenir 
of the occasion. Contrary to his wont, General Grant replied 
in a speech of considerable length, the novelty of the audience 
having sufficed to loosen the tongue of the silent man. In 
1894 the Hon. J. W. Foster, late Secretary of State, was re- 
ceived with similar honors. 

After what has been said of their stiff adherence to etiquette 
it is due to the students to add that their uniform politeness 
to me was the effect of good feehng, not of ceremony. On 
one occasion the official gazette containing an uncomplimen- 
tary reference to foreigners, the students took pains to mutilate 
our class-room copy before it came into my hands. Of their 
feelings I was not always quite so careful. In the school for 
interpreters an English class were reading a book of descrip- 
tive geography, when they came on a passage describing the 
Chinese as of a " dirty buff color." They took no offense at 
the uncomplimentary phrase, but I regretted that I had not 
kept an eye to leeward. 

In the school-room when I first entered on duty there was 
a placard containing sundry regulations and forbidding the 
teaching of the Bible. When I was called to the presidency 
this was removed by the proctors, leaving me free to use my 
own judgment. Though the nature of the institution pre- 
cluded the regular teaching of religion, I always felt at liberty 
to speak to the students on the subject, and requested profes- 
sors not to allow their classes to skip the religious lessons in 
their reading-books. A favorite subject for discussion was the 
creeds of the pagan and Christian worlds. They usually treated 
it more intelligendy than a Chinese in his book of travels, who, 
returning from the West, stated that the principal sects in the 
United States were the Shaykeer and Kwaykeer (Shakers and 
Quakers). 

Though deterred from professing Christianity by social con- 



326 



A CYCLE OF CATHAY 



siderations or lest it should prejudice their official career, most 
of them gave it their intellectual assent, frequently expressing 
in writing or otherwise a belief that a time would come when 
it will supersede Buddhism and Taoism. They never hinted 
that it will supersede Confucianism, for they are all Confucian- 
ists. While they are wont to ridicule the superstitions of the 
people, they entertain a profound reverence for their great Sage 
as a Heaven-sent prophet. When China accepts Christianity 
the Confucian star will pale, but not disappear. 

One of the students came to my house one day to beg me 
to invite a foreign doctor to see his mother. Falling on his 
knees and knocking his head on the ground, he vowed that he 
" would be a missionary " if God would spare her life. She 

died, and he did not be- 
come a " missionary." 
The same young man, on 
the eve of going abroad 
as interpreter to a lega- 
tion, coming to take 
leave, Mrs. Martin cau- 
tioned him against the 
vices and seductions of 
Paris. " Haven't I read 
the story of Joseph ? " 
he replied. " Do you 
think I would yield to 
temptations like that? " 
To the credit of the 
Chinese ministers be it 
said, the creed of a 
student never seemed to 
make any difference in his official prospects. Mr. Tching, who 
has had a briUiant career in Europe, being more than once 
charge d'affaires in Paris, is a Roman Catholic of old family— 




MR. TCHING, WIFE AND CHILD. 



THE TUNG WEN COLLEGE 



327 



a Christian in fact as well as in name. Two or three Moham- 
medans have obtained good appointments, one having been 
consul in Japan. 

Such success as the college has achieved has been the fruit 
of a long struggle with obstinate conservatism. Unlike the 
Japanese, who adopted the Western system in all their schools 
from kindergarten to university, the Chinese were so well satis- 
fied with their old style of education that they never dreamed 
of reforming or supplementing it to any great extent. The col- 
lege was established as a concession to the demands of a new 
situation — to supply a limited number of trained officials, not 
to renovate the whole mandarinate. Deep and permanent as 
its influence must be, how much grander would be its destiny 
if it were made the starting-point of a new departure ! In found- 
ing it Prince Kung and his associates confessed themselves in- 
fluenced by the action of Japan. Now that the schoolmaster 
has conquered, under the uniform of the soldier, will they not 
extend the system and place the whole education of the empire 
on a new basis? The future of China depends on it. 




g^^^j^^ff^'rmi ffita^ 




ALTAR OF HEAVEN. (SEE PAGE 242.) 



CHAPTER VIII 

MANDARINS AND GOVERNMENT — THE TSUNGLI YAMEN 

Mandarins not a caste— Their grades, their training, their virtues and 
defects — Independence of the people — Limitations of monarchy — 
Formation and character of the Yamen— Strange recruits 

IN forty years' intercourse with Chinese officialdom I became 
acquainted with mandarins of all grades, civil and military, 
from policemen to princes. The average foreigner takes a man- 
darin to be a sort of Brahman of a superior caste, exalted and 
peculiar. But in Chinese society there is no unalterable strati- 
fication, nor is there outside of the Tartars any class possessed 
of hereditary privileges ; for the orders of nobility recently con- 
ferred on a few of those who supported the government in its 
struggle with rebellion, and two or three who previously en- 
joyed such distinction as representatives of ancient sages, are 
not sufficient to constitute a class. 

" Ministers and generals are not born in office," is a saying 
constantly cited to encourage the aspirations of youth. They 
are told without reserve that by learning and wisdom they 
may rise to the one, or by feats of valor attain to the other. 
In theory there is no road to office but the thorny path of com- 
petition. A government that makes this the rule is pure. One 
that sets it aside even partially is branded as corrupt. Such, in 
popular estimation, is coming to be the character of the Ta- 
tsing, or " Great Pure," dynasty, because within the last forty 
years it has declined from the standard of earlier reigns, in 

328 



MANDARINS AND GOVERNMENT 329 

every season of distress from war or famine replenishing its 
exchequer by the sale of honors or office. Yet so cautiously 
is this done that not one in ten of the mandarins owes his ele- 
vation to direct purchase. 

The commonest form of purchase is that of the privilege of 
competing for higher degrees without passing through lower 
grades. Where actual office is brought into market it is gen- 
erally coupled with the condition that applicants must have 
gained one or two degrees in the regular way. In either case 
a certain respect is paid to the competitive system, so that peo- 
ple have not wholly lost confidence in it nor ceased to stake 
on it the labor of a lifetime. 

This is a democratic feature in the Chinese constitution, in 
theory offering to all the inspiration of equal opportunity, and 
it still exerts an incredible influence in promoting education 
and maintaining loyalty. But in their official forms there is 
nothing democratic. No officer, high or low, is chosen by the 
suffrages of his fellows ; all are appointed by the emperor, and 
from that hour they constitute a body apart. They spring from 
the people, but they do not, as with us, revert to the people ; 
for, barring crime or blunder, they are in the public service for 
hfe. If once in office, real or nominal, money, flattery, fam- 
ily connections, and sometimes ability, will serve to open the 
road to further advancement. China is in this respect no ex- 
ception to the common experience. 

** This mournful truth is everywhere confessed : 
Slow rises worth by poverty depressed." 

To render the segregation of its mandarins more complete 
the government inculcates a code of official manners and im- 
poses an embargo on intercourse with the untitled vulgar. I 
have known men cashiered on that ground, though it usually 
covers graver charges, such as that of engaging in trade, which 
to the whole mandarinate is strictly prohibited. So distinct are 



330 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

they from the people that a special name like mafidarin (which 
is Portuguese for quart, " ruler ") seems not inappropriate. 

Mandarins, whether civil or military, are divided into nine 
grades, distinguished by a globular stone or button, that shines 
on the apex of a conical cap like a gilded ball on a church 
spire.* Their long silken vestments are in case of civil servants 
embroidered with birds of gentle disposition and tuneful note ; 
for the military they are emblazoned with ferocious beasts of 
prey. In any further remarks I shall confine myself to the 
former, partly because my experiences have been chiefly among 
them, partly because in China the civil service is the more im- 
portant. The low estimation in which the military are held 
accounts in some measure for the misfortunes that have lately 
overtaken the ''empire. Military mandarins are mostly illiter- 
ate, the ground of selection in preliminary tests being feats of 
strength, skill, and agility, such as throwing a hundred-pound 
stone, fixing an arrow in a bull's-eye, or turning a double som- 
ersault. I have known some who possessed the strength — and 
the inteUigence — of an ox. 

A mandarin's first privilege is exemption from torture. When 
therefore it is thought desirable to extort a confession from 
one, even of the humblest, it is necessary to obtain an imperial 
decree stripping him of his official cap, which, hke the magic 
cap of Siegfried, shields him from violence. It is derogatory 
to the dignity of a mandarin to go afoot. The mihtary are re- 
quired to mount a horse, while civihans are carried in a sedan 
or a cart, a usage older than Confucius, who, when asked to 
sell his carriage for a charitable object, replied that "being a 
mandarin he could not go on foot." A sedan with two bear- 
ers may be enjoyed by any one who can pay for it ; but prior 
to England's first proof of prowess foreigners made use of it at 
the risk of being dropped in the street if they met a mandarin. 
A chair with four is what all mandarins are entitled to in the 

* See p. 151. 



MANDARINS AND GOVERNMENT 331 

provinces, but only the highest in the capital, where all others 
must be content with carts, or, in lieu thereof, must take a 
horse or mule — never a donkey, the royal beast of Palestine 
being in Peking so irredeemably plebeian that no respectable 
native will venture to ride it within the walls. 

When mandarins, no matter of what rank, enter the sacred 
precinct of the " forbidden city " the awe of majesty falls upon 
them, and they all come down to their feet, unless by special 
favor they are granted a horse or a chair and two, an honor 
conferred only on the aged or the meritorious. 

Civil mandarins are always men of education, and being, 
with rare exceptions, the pick of a thousand or it may be of 
ten thousand, they are men of keen intellect, the flower of their 
country's culture. The " Book of Rites," with its three thou- 
sand rules, being one of their text-books, they are an fait in ordi- 
nary politeness, to say nothing of official etiquette. But for a 
foreigner to appreciate the charm of their manners he must go 
through the same discipHne and form his taste by the same 
standards. Manners are their strong, or rather, I should say, 
their weak point ; for they are prone to 

" Polish up the knocker of the great front door " 

to the neglect of the furniture within. Possessing very little 
general knowledge, they are absolutely without the essential 
requirements for special duties. I have known a man fill, suc- 
cessively, a post of presiding officer in five out of the six chief 
departments of state, in which that of rites or ceremonies was 
the only one whose business he had ever studied. Why should 
he take the trouble to learn the business of any one office when 
he knows that each is only a stepping-stone to something be- 
yond? After all, are there not clerks to keep the Yamen run- 
ning? These clerks, with or without degrees, are the real rulers 
though not mandarins, each having a specialty in which he be- 



332 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

comes expert. Without them the government of a district, not 
to say of the empire, would be impossible. 

To become a mandarin in the regular way a man must go 
through the prescribed curriculum and win its higher honors. 
A student fresh from the schools by a well-written essay wins 
the third degree and is rewarded with the governorship of a 
district city. Here he is " father and mother to the people," 
and sits under a canopy inscribed with the words, " Ye all are 
my children." His duties are as multifarious as those of the 
head of a household. He directs the police, collects the taxes, 
inspects the schools, superintends the public charities, attends 
to the interests of agriculture, holds inquests, and his spare 
time, if he has any, is given to the functions of a judge in a 
court of first instance— all this without other training than that 
which comes from experience. His salary is miserably small ; 
three hundred dollars perhaps, with an allowance of three 
times as much to " e?icourage probity.'" Notwithstanding this 
suggestive inducement he ekes out his income by irregular 
methods, some of which are sanctioned by custom and some 
practised though not sanctioned. If they grow rich, the fact 
is proof of peculation, and they are liable to be compelled to 
disgorge, as Peking pigeons are made to empty their crops 
after filling them at the public granaries. Chang Chewan, a 
cabinet minister, was not long ago called on to explain the cir- 
cumstance that a bag of silver had been seen entering his 
gate ; and Wen Yu, another cabinet minister, having lost three 
hundred thousand ounces by the failure of a bank, was cited 
before the emperor to render an account of the methods by 
which he had amassed so great a fortune. " May it please 
your Majesty," he said, " that httle pittance was all due to the 
favor of your ancestors, and it was all I was able to save in 
thirty years of public service." A merchant may keep his 
wealth, but not a mandarin, unless he conceals it with great 
skill. 



MANDARINS AND GOVERNMENT 2>Z2> 

Mayoralties are divided into four classes, nominally from the 
importance of the post, really from the amount of probable 
emolument — some of them yielding, under skilful cultivation, 
from sixty to a hundred thousand taels per annum. Enjoying 
a respectable revenue and ruling with the authority of a httle 
king, a mayor has reason to be satisfied even if he does not 
grow into a taotai, or prefect. " I would rather be a mayor 
in China than President of the United States," said a Chinese 
charge d'affaires to me when he saw our chief magistrate rele- 
gated to private life. 

In a country where there is no free press and no ballot-box 
the district mandarins enjoy an almost autocratic immunity 
from interference. So general is the tendency to make the 
most of their opportunities that Chinese writers assert that 
among them corruption is the rule, and integrity the exception. 
Passing by a lonely mountain, Confucius heard the wail of a 
woman. Inquiring the cause of her grief, he was told that 
her husband and son had been eaten by tigers. " Why do you 
live in such a place? " asked the Sage. " We came here," she 
replied, " to be free from exactions." " Mark that, my chil- 
dren," said the Sage, turning to his disciples ; " evil officers are 
more dreaded than tigers." This is from an ancient book, but 
it is constantly cited as applicable to the present day. 

In the same vein a modern writer, who lived a little more 
than a thousand years ago, tells of a family who, to be free 
from oppression by mandarins, chose to dwell in a dismal 
swamp and subsist by catching snakes for medicine. Good 
officers do exist, nevertheless. Witness the boots now and 
then to be seen hanging at a city gate — I have myself seen 
such — left there by a departing magistrate, at the request of 
the people, as a hint that his successor should walk in his steps. 
Witness also innumerable anecdotes such as the following : 

A poor woman appealed for help to a new magistrate. 

" What do you wish me to do for you, my good dame? " 



334 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

" The fame of your honor has come in advance. You 
always pity the poor, and I have been told you will give every 
poor family a donkey." 

" I shall think about that ; but while I am thinking you 
may go out and buy me a pound of salt." 

When the salt came he learned that the woman had to pay 
for it three times the regulation price. Sending for the shop- 
keeper, he imposed a fine, which he handed over to the wo- 
man, saying, " Now go and buy your donkey." 

The predatory tendencies of provincial magistrates are ag- 
gravated by the fact that they are strangers from abroad, the 
law forbidding them to take up a post within two hundred 
miles of their birthplace or to form marriage ties of any kind 
within their districts. As a device for making the mandarinate 
wholly dependent on their sovereign nothing could be better. 
They have no local attachments, no home except a cradle and 
a grave, and in their perambulatory movements they are not 
permitted to stop at one post long enough to acquire an influ- 
ence which might become a danger. Toward the people its 
aspect appears to be benevolent, securing impartiahty in ad- 
ministration and protecting them from the tyranny of great 
houses, who would otherwise usurp the local government. It 
has, however, the disadvantage of delivering them into the 
hands of strangers, who, as their tenure is brief, do not scruple 
to make hay while the sun shines. 

If it be asked why the people submit to such a system, I 
answer, because on the whole it works to their advantage. 
The family council, in which disputes are settled and crime 
sometimes punished, serves, moreover, as a buffer between 
them and their magistrates. 

The framework of Chinese society rests on a patria potestas 
as extreme as that of ancient Rome. Filial piety, which means 
paternal authority, is the ground-law of the empire. The head 
of the family is a diminutive type of the divinely appointed 



MANDARINS AND GOVERNMENT 335 

head of the state. Sons and grandsons, instead of being scat- 
tered to the winds by a centrifugal force, are expected to cleave 
to the ancestral tree, and, banian-like, take root in its shade. 
The family is therefore more complex than with us, the grand- 
sire reigning over it with the power of a monarch, thrashing or 
maltreating his offspring, who continue to be minors as long as 
he lives. When several such units of one stock are combined 
in a class, with temple, cemetery, and glebe-lands in common, 
the power of their elders is such that if they do not defy the 
magistrate they can at least dispense with his services. They 
do not shrink in certain cases from inflicting a death-penalty. 
I have known a youth to be drowned by order of such a coun- 
cil; prodigals and other incorrigible offenders are sometimes 
buried aUve, care being taken in such cases that the corpse 
shall bear no trace of a wound ; otherwise official interference 
will be inevitable. 

There is no country like China for home rule of this descrip- 
tion, and it extends to villages, especially where they consist 
of one or more clans. Schooled in these patriarchal institu- 
tions, the people in rural districts grow up with a thorough in- 
difference, if nothing worse, toward their mandarins ; nor be- 
yond the payment of a moderate tax do they concern them- 
selves about the government. It is said of the Emperor Yao, 
who lived four thousand years ago, that, being on a tour of 
inspection, he heard an old man singing to the sound of his 
lute: 

" I plow my ground and eat, 
I dig my well and drink ; 
For king or emperor 
"What use have I? " 

An emperor of the present day, if he made such tours, might 
in many a place have the same experience, and, hke the ven- 
erable Yao, rejoice to be forgotten. 

So far are the Chinese from presenting the aspect of an op- 



S3^ A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

pressed people, that no people in the world are more exempt 
from official interference. You might spend days in a Chi- 
nese town without seeing a policeman. Every man seems 
free to do what is right in his own eyes. He throws his gar- 
bage in the street, and no one calls him to account. He stops 
his cart in the street, and everybody turns out without com- 
plaining. In most places, though not in the capital, on the 
occurrence of a marriage or funeral, in both which the festivi- 
ties last for several days, he may enlarge his house by taking 
in a part or the whole of the street ; and other people submit 
to the inconvenience, knowing that time and circumstance will 
bring their revenge. 

The legal imposts are not oppressive, and if a greedy officer 
ventures to add too much to the burden, the people may peti- 
tion for his removal or, in extreme cases, band together for 
armed resistance. Resistance on a large scale becomes rebel- 
lion, which may lead to revolution. It is not a little singular 
that the very books that consecrate the rights of kings make 
provision for this last remedy. The right of rebellion is taught 
and enforced by the example of holy sages who took up arms 
to deliver the people from tyranny. The monarch rules by the 
will of Heaven, but Heaven's will is manifested through the 
people. ('* Heaven hears through the ears of my people," said 
the wise Shun.) If through his misconduct their hearts are al- 
ienated his commission is forfeited and their allegiance may be 
transferred to another. Tie7i tning wu chang (" The divine right 
does not last forever "), say the holy books. 

It is thus that dynasties are changed, and the title of a new 
one when once established is as good as that of its predecessor. 
The transfer of power is not made, however, without a terrible 
sacrifice of life. History counts twenty-four dynasties in about 
four thousand years, making a long average of comparative 
tranquillity. Reigning by the will of Heaven, the emperor is 
of course absolute in theory, but in practice no ruler of any 



MANDARINS AND GOVERNMENT 337 

country is less capricious or tyrannical. In the absence of 
constitutional limitations, this is secured by a careful system of 
education, which aims at three things : first, to imbue him with 
a sense of responsibility to the Sovereign of the universe and 
to the spirits of his ancestors ; second, to inspire him with re- 
spect for existing institutions ; and third, to instruct him how 
to employ the machinery of government. He rarely abolishes 
any portion of that machinery, however effete or obsolete; 
nor does he readily consent to any addition that may have the 
appearance of innovation. Barnacles accumulate, and the hull 
of the ship is never scraped. 

In the general administration the leading departments are 
six, viz., the boards of civil office, of war (or miUtary office), of 
rites (or education and religion), of justice, of finance, of pub- 
lic works. Any question coming before the emperor, no mat- 
ter through what channel, is not likely to be decided without 
many formalities and much deliberation. In ordinary matters 
he indorses the document with the words, " Let the proper 
board take cognizance," in which case its action is definitive. 
If the indorsement says, " Let the proper board report," a 
more careful investigation is assured, but the emperor almost 
uniformly sanctions the advice of the board. The cases in 
which he departs from it are mostly those that relate to re- 
wards or punishments, in which he displays his sovereign pre- 
rogative in acts of generosity or mercy. In matters of ex- 
treme moment all six of the boards are sometimes required to 
consult, aided by several other metropolitan tribunals. The 
collective wisdom of this august parliament is never rejected ; 
the emperor conforms to it as the best means for securing the 
support of his people. Besides responsibiHty to Heaven and 
the people he is taught to feel himself answerable at the bar of 
history, his daily words and acts being noted by official scribes, 
who dog his footsteps hke a shadow. 

Though I had seen much of official life at Ningpo and dur- 



33^ A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

ing our expeditions to the North, it was in connection with the 
Tsungli Yamen that I had the best opportunity fqr studying 
the Chinese mandarin. This is a new tribunal, called into exis- 
tence to meet the necessities of intercourse under new condi- 
tions. Among the six boards there was no portfolio of foreign 
affairs ; the nearest approach to it was a colonial office outside 
of the six called Lifanyuen. To that office all foreign affairs 
had been referred — all Western nations who had sent embassies 
being inscribed on its books as tributaries. When they came 
as conquerors and stipulated for intercourse on equal terms a 
new vessel was required to hold the new wine of equality and 
fraternity. The Tsungli Yamen was invented. It was, how- 
ever, an evolution from the colonial office. The second syllable, 
//, which signifies control, serves to connect it with the latter 
in a way characteristic of Chinese conservatism and soothing 
to Chinese pride. 

Launched in 1861 on a small scale, with three ministers 
under the presidency of Prince Kung, it expanded until it now 
counts in ordinary eight or nine ministers and as many under- 
secretaries, or chiefs of bureaus. Under these, again, are an 
army of assistants, exclusive of scribes who are not in the line 
of promotion. In this service promotion is more rapid than 
in any other — possibly because it is deemed dangerous or dis- 
agreeable to have anything to do with foreign affairs — and 
every under-secretary or assistant is entitled to expect a step 
in advance once in three years. It thus happens that scholars 
of the second or third degree (for no others are admitted), who 
enter the Yamen as apprentices, are in about ten or twelve years 
graduated as prefects, or taotais, or drafted off to legations as 
secretaries, to be promoted to a chargeship or ministership ac- 
cording to tact, talent, and a judicious application of palm-oil. 

The president of the Tungwen College, who maintains a 
direct correspondence with the Tsungli Yamen, is brought at 
all points into contact with this phalanx of mandarins. Be- 




TSUNGLI \aMEN and MINISTERS OF blATE. 
SHEN. TUNG. MAO. 



MANDARINS AND GOVERNMENT 339 

sides elaborate entertainments at the Yamen, to which the in- 
cumbent of the office is often invited by princes and other high 
dignitaries, some of the ministers have been in the habit of 
attending the examinations of the college, and it has been the 
present writer's duty to dine with them at the college four or 
five times in the year, and on business to meet some of them 
every day in the week. These ministers comprise most of the 
heads of the six boards and always two members of the impe- 
rial cabinet. They have daily access to the throne, and, col- 
lectively, form the most powerful tribunal in the empire, issu- 
ing orders to viceroys, and able at the same time to enforce 
them if they choose to do so. The emperor always complies 
with their request when they assure him that there is no other 
way out of a difficulty. It is accordingly far easier for them 
to procure the removal of a refractory viceroy than it is for the 
governments of England or the United States to impose their 
will on Australia or California in matters touching the Chinese. 
Yet it is surprising to see how patiently they sometimes brook 
opposition. Formerly it was the regular thing for the frontier 
authorities to refuse to recognize their passports for travel in 
Tibet. I remember to have seen a complaint on that head 
addressed in German to Prince Kung by an Hungarian count. 
He had shown his passport to General Tso, viceroy of the 
Northwest, who was carrying on war with the rebels of Kash- 
gar. The old general flouted the mandate of the Yamen and 
put himself in open rebellion against it. Hier bin ich der Herr; 
das Yaineji hat nichts in meifiem Gebiete zii t/nni, * was his an- 
swer to the appHcation, and the Yamen took the rebuff more 
patiently than the count. 

Toward all propositions coming from the representative of 
a foreign power their normal attitude was that of opposition, a 
position from which they were only to be dislodged by a pro- 
tracted siege. It was accordingly surmised that the machine 

* " I am master here ; the Yamen has nothing to do in my jurisdiction." 



34° A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

had been contrived on the principle of a micrometer-screw, to 
minimize motion, not to expedite business. In some instances 
a foreigner, weary of waiting for the council to assemble a 
quorum and come to an understanding among themselves, 
posted off to Tientsin and got what he wanted in an hour from 
the viceroy Li Hung Chang, who had special powers, making 
a change of venue both possible and poHtic. Proud of his 
promptitude, the viceroy was once scoffing at the Yamen's 
diplomacy as decidedly slow, when I said, "It is precisely the 
case of the two dragons : the one with nine heads is no match 
for the one with nine tails. The former looks formidable, but the 
latter can slip through a thicket in half the time." His E'.xcel- 
lency perceived the application, and his tall form grew taller as he 
seemed to feel his superiority to the composite body at Peking. 

In the early years of the Yamen all foreign powers were in- 
clined to be dictatorial, particularly those which so lately had 
China at their mercy. One of the ministers, who had been 
port collector at Canton before its pride had been brought 
low, once said in my hearing, " Formerly the foreigner was 
cuffed and abused, but the tables are turned : now it is the 
Chinaman." With this feeling, was it not natural to oppose 
to the push of the foreigner that vis inertice in which China so 
conspicuously excels.? Ignorance made them cautious ; know- 
ing nothing of foreign countries, what could they do but feel 
their way? 

Seu Kiyu, ex-governor of Fu-kien, was made a member of the 
Yamen on account of his knowledge of geography. He had 
compiled a text-book, in which he says that " Rhode Island 
is remarkable for having a brazen Colossus bestriding its har- 
bor"! In the previous reign he had been disgraced for the 
publication of this very book, which was thought to betray 
proclivities that were un- Chinese. His recall therefore was a 
good sign, even if his archaeology was slightly at fault. Dans 
le royaume des aveugles, les borgnes sont rois. 



MANDARINS AND GOVERNMENT 341 

I was once breakfasting with two ministers at the college, 
when one of them referred to an item of Indian news, in which 
the name Piluchi (Beloochistan) occurred. " Piluchi," inter- 
posed the other— "is not that the same as Pilu [Peru]?" For 
a minister of foreign affairs this was nearly as bad as Palmer- 
ston's making Sir Somebody governor of Labuan, and then turn- 
ing to his secretary with the question, " Where is that island 
anyhow? " Incredible as it may appear, I have heard a Chi- 
nese minister ask the same question about Burmah. Among 
those grandees the only man who ever showed famiharity with 
geography was Sichen, a Manchu, president of the Board of 
Civil Office. Being in my room with the grand secretary, Yen, 
and several other ministers, he noticed a set of rehef-maps hang- 
ing on the wall. Picking out India, though unable to read 
English, he ran his fingers over the mountain-tops and named 
the countries adjacent. He might not have known so much 
about other parts of the world; India is a quarter to which 
they are accustomed to look with mingled fear and hope. 

Of all strange things in China nothing is stranger than the 
way in which this high tribunal recruits its membership. It is, 
as Chenglin, one of the body, explained to me, an expedient 
for averting external opposition by substituting internal friction. 
" You know," he said, " that the plans of the Tsungli Yamen 
sometimes go down before the force of outside antagonism. A 
clever censor or powerful viceroy gets the ear of the emperor, 
who forthwi h quashes our wisest schemes. In such a case 
Prince Kung has a way of his own to deal with the difficulty. 
He memorializes the throne to give his opponent a chair in 
this council for foreign affairs. The prince knows that, once 
here, he will not be slow to find out that his Highness's policy 
is the only possible way of getting along with foreign nations. 
For that reason and no other were Mao and Shen brought into 
this Yamen." The first-named rose from a vice-presidency in 
the censorate to be president of the Board of Civil Office ; the 



342 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

other from the governorship of Shansi rose to be grand secre- 
tary, with the title of Chtmgtang. Both became loyal col- 
leagues of the prince — of course after a little instruction in for- 
eign relations, beginning with a few lessons in geography. A 
further instance is the case of Wojin, mentioned in a former 
chapter. Who knows but the old academician might have 
been as thoroughly converted had he not refused to submit to 
the educating process? Certainly no members of the Yamen 
have ever been more satisfactory to deal with than those two. 

" Our true policy," observed Shen to me, " is to make use of 
foreigners, but not to let them make use of us." At another 
time he inveighed against Mr. Yungwing, who had rendered 
great services to his country, and might have rendered greater 
but for the suspicions to which his progressive spirit and for- 
eign tastes made him liable. " I don't like him," he said ; " he 
has married an American wife." He evidently feared that 
through the wife America might use the husband for some 
sinister end. " Western cabinets," I replied, " are not so 
suspicious. Baron Stoeckel, a Russian minister, married an 
American, and was kept at Washington thirty years. Baron 
Bunsen, Prussian minister, married an Englishwoman, and was 
sent to London, where he remained fifteen years." At that 
time Bismarck had not yet enacted or enforced the rule that 
a member of the diplomatic service must not marry an ahen, 
a rule under which Mr. von Brandt, one of Germany's ablest 
representatives, was compelled to leave Peking. For a con- 
tingency of this kind the diplomacy of ancient China affords no 
parallel. The nearest precedent is the case of Sunwu, a gen- 
eral who killed his wife lest, belonging to a hostile state, she 
should stand in the way of his obtaining a command. 

Before his appearance at the Yamen, Mao had acquired noto- 
riety in Peking by the suppression of a Buddhist temple. Crowds 
were drawn to it by a report, which they found correct, that a 
huge brass idol had become warm — palpable proof that a di- 



MANDARINS AND GOVERNMENT 



343 



vinity had come to dwell there. The place became known as 
Jefosi (" Temple of the Warm Buddha "). The excitement ran 
high, and Mao, w^ho was charged with the supervision of that 
quarter of the capital, deeming it dangerous to the peace of the 
city, resolved to close it. The priests protested, and menaced 
him with the anger of their god. " If he is really a god," 
said Mao, turning to the frightened worshipers, " let him 
strike me dead. If I live another half-hour you may know 
that your living idol is nothing but a clever deception, and 
that you have been cheated by these greedy priests." Noth- 
ing happened to him within the half-hour, the crow'd dis- 
persed, and the doors were sealed. Wishing to verify the 
story, I asked him if it were true. He said it was, and I com- 
plimented him on his courage. He had, moreover, the cour- 
age to say to several ministers, with whom the present writer 
was at breakfast, " If everybody presented the claims of Chris- 
tianity as Dr. Martin does we should not have much reason to 
object to it." I had given each of them a copy of my book 
on the Evidences. 




A alKEET SHOW IN PEKING. 



CHAPTER IX 



NOTABLE MANDARINS 



A prince of the blood— A Chinese statesman— A Chinese scholar— A 
Manchu scholar— A Manchu statesman— A Chinese diplomat— A Chi- 
nese professor 

SOME of my mandarin friends have been brought on the 
stage incidentally. If the reader desires a closer acquain- 
tance he may find it in the following notices, which are not 
given as complete sketches, but by way of supplement. Be- 
sides typical scholars, whose talents raised them from obscur- 
ity, there are among them two or three from privileged classes, 
who, though born to high station, have through force of char- 
acter exerted a profound influence on the destinies of their 
country. 

I . A Prince of the Blood 

Prince Kung, a younger brother of the obstinate and ill-fated 
Emperor Hienfung, has for twenty-five years first and last been 
chief minister of foreign affairs and chancellor of the empire. 
This eminence he owes to the intelligence and courage that 
enabled him to come to the front at more than one critical 
moment in the fortunes of his house. His star rose in storm 
and darkness. The emperor had fled to Mongolia, and, in 
default of any responsible person with whom to treat, the 
ambassadors (or one of them) were thinking of turning to the 
rival power at Nanking, when, in October, i860, Prince Kung, 
then thirty years of age, came forward with credentials em- 

344 



NOTABLE MANDARINS 345 

powering him to negotiate a peace. They were struck with 
the dignity and composure which he manifested in a very em- 
barrassing situation. The prince had never seen a foreigner, 
and he was not backed by any visible force ; the defenders of the 
capital having been routed, the summer palace sacked, and the 
city taken. Yet so far was he from giving way to demonstrations 
of grief, like Jules Favre on signing his treaty of peace, that he 
betrayed no sense of weakness and endeavored to obtain the best 
terms possible. He was fortunate in having to deal with men 
who were noted for moderation, and who were as anxious as him- 
self to set the prostrate empire on its feet again. The conven- 
tion, followed by the withdrawal of the invading forces, brought 
him into great favor with the emperor, who required him to 
remain at Peking as his representative. 

Dying in exile, partly from chagrin, partly from the effects of 
a dissolute life, Hienfung left an infant son, with two widows 
to contest the honors of motherhood. Empress No. i, though 
childless, claimed the child by virtue of her position as legal 
consort. Empress No. 2, originally an inferior wife, was the 
real mother. Raised to imperial rank in recompense for giv- 
ing an heir to the throne, she was not required to waive her 
maternal rights. Here were materials for a conflict in which, 
had not both ladies been gentle and discreet, a sword more 
formidable than that of Solomon might have settled the dis- 
pute. Sushun and Toanhoa, two princes of the blood, taking 
possession of the infant, concihated the ladies by proclaiming 
a regency in their name and bringing the new emperor back to 
Peking. Prince Kung was an obstacle to their ambition, and 
he was marked for destruction ; but, acting on the advice of 
his father-in-law, the astute old Kweiliang, he was too quick 
for his enemies, who were seized and decapitated. The im- 
perial ladies, grateful for deliverance from the self-constituted 
guardians of their son, proclaimed him Icheng-wa7ig^ or "joint 
regent." They, according to the court phrase, " gave audience 



346 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

behind a curtain," but he was "to be consulted on affairs of 
state." 

When the ship was again in smooth water, with foreign wars 
ended and internal rebellions suppressed, the regents thought 
they could do without their pilot. The empress mother was a 
bold woman, of high ambition and higher genius. She could 
make a tool of her colleague, but felt that she was not sover- 
eign as long as she was obliged to obtain the approval of Prince 
Kung before her decrees should go into effect. Trumping 
up a charge of arrogance and disrespect toward the emperor, 
which sounded comical in the mouth of a child of ten, the two 
ladies issued a decree stripping the prince of all his offices and 
confining him a prisoner in his own palace. Within three days 
this was followed by another announcing that " the prince had 
thrown himself at the foot of the throne arid with flowing tears 
confessed his faults." He was pardoned, and his numerous 
offices restored one after another, with the addition of new dig- 
nities, but the title of "joint regent" never reappeared. 

Lank in figure, swart in complexion, and so near-sighted 
that he appeared to squint. Prince Kung was not a handsome 
man, to speak in the past tense, though he still lives. He was, 
however, kindly and gracious in demeanor, and his rapid and 
energetic utterance made an impression of independent strength 
which he was far from possessing. Best known as president of 
the Board of Foreign Affairs, he was head of the administra- 
tion in all its branches ; but he never acted without the advice 
of his subordinates, and his speeches were nothing but a sum- 
mary of their deliberations. Son of one emperor and brother 
of another, he may be taken as a fair sample of the stuff the 
present rulers of China are made of. 

My relations with the prince were frequent and cordial. Be- 
sides compliments of various kinds, he on one occasion showed 
me an extraordinary mark of consideration. One of our pro- 
fessors, while acting as interpreter to a foreign minister, had 



NOTABLE MANDARINS 347 

given him serious offense; the prince, instead of arbitrarily 
ordering his dismissal, called for me, stated the case, and left 
the decision to me. Relegated to private life ten years ago 
on account of French aggressions in Annam, the prince was 
kept in the background by the jealousy of his brother (father 
of the present emperor) as long as the latter hved ; but the " old 
pilot " has lately been called to the helm again. Though infirm 
in health, China is once more indebted to his wisdom and mod- 
eration for peace with a conquering power. He seldom ap- 
pears at the Tsungli Yamen, the special presidency of that 
council now pertaining to his cousin, Prince Ching. 

These two are the only princes with whom I became ac- 
quainted, with the exception of a Mongol prince who came to 
my house to ask me to put him in the way of learning Enghsh. 
In Russia princes are as numerous as counts in France, in 
both countries the title descending to all the sons or being as- 
sumed by them. In China, on the contrary, they are few, con- 
fined to the Tartars, and the law sets a limit to their increase. 
The son of an emperor is a Chin Wang^ or "prince of the 
blood." A son of the latter is Chuin Wang, or "prince of 
the second order." His son is no longer a Wang, but a Feila, 
i.e., not a prince at all. Their dignity fades as the circle 
widens, and the nation is saved from the burden of a grow- 
ing incubus. 

2. Li Hung Chang, the Chinese Statesman 

No Chinese name, after that of Confucius, is so well known 
beyond the borders of China. Yet Li Hung Chang resembles 
Confucius about as much as his Most Christian Majesty, Louis 
XV., resembled Christ. He has grown rich by methods not 
approved by a nice morality, though sanctioned by the customs 
of his country ; but his wealth would require to be multiplied a 
hundred-fold to reach the figure of five hundred million dollars, 
sometimes attributed to him. One of those methods was 



348 



A CYCLE OF CATHAY 



brought to my notice by a mandarin from the South, himself 
rich. He was expecting an appointment in the viceroy's 
province, and yet he congratulated himself on slipping through 
Tientsin without seeing him, assigning as excuse for not call- 
ing that it was " too near the great man's birthday." 

His location has lifted him to the hght. Holding for a score 
of years the leading viceroyalty, that of Chihli, which makes 




AlP 




LI HING CHANG AT FIFTY. 



him chief guardian of the throne, while his brother (who bears 
the sobriquet of " Bottomless Bag ") has through his influence 
held successively the viceroyalties of Hankow and Canton, he 
is by far the most powerful of the great satraps.* His qual- 

* Since this was written he has been called to take up the office of chief 
of the privy council in Peking, of which he has long held the honorary 
title. He is therefore in fact, as in name, Shosiang, " prime minister " of 
China. 



NOTABLE MANDARINS 349 

ities of intellect and character are set off by a commanding 
stature — he stands six feet two — with features rather Persian 
than Chinese. At the age of seventy-three he retains all his 
mental force and no small measure of physical vigor. His 
seventieth anniversary was celebrated with great pomp ; the 
pageant, with its shifting scenes and the poems to which it 
gave birth, filled a large album, a copy of which sent me by 
the viceroy was appropriated by one of his native admirers. 

Holding the key to the capital, all envoys from Western 
courts must pass him en route ^ and they seldom fail to pay him 
the comphment of a more or less formal visit. He is easy of 
access. Travelers ambitious of seeing celebrities are always 
able to find him at home, while special correspondents are sure 
to consecrate a few columns to the most distinguished repre- 
sentative of the Chinese race. He is a man who under any 
circumstances must have come to the front, because in early 
manhood he distinguished himself as a scholar, winning in his 
native province of Anhui the degrees of bachelor and master, 
and in the metropohtan examinations the doctorate in letters, 
followed by the supreme distinction of a membership in the 
Imperial Academy ; but had he depended on letters alone his 
promotion would have been less rapid. Fortune favored him 
by calling him to participate in the war against the Taiping 
rebels. Wearing the honors of the reigning house, he was 
pledged to loyalty, while the excesses committed by the in- 
surgents, as they swept over his district, impelled him to take 
arms in the cause of law and order. 

Tsengkofan, an older academician, who headed the imperial 
troops, gave him a cordial welcome, and to his patronage next 
to his own talents Li owes his brilliant career. In five years 
he found himself in command of the forces of eastern Kiangsu, 
with General Ward and his trained battalion recapturing city 
after city, all their successes being set to his credit. When 
Colonel Gordon succeeded to the command of Ward's 



350 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

force, and compelled the rebels to surrender the great city 
of Suchau, the capital of the province, Li was raised to the 
governorship. The act for which he is best known is his 
violation of the terms of capitulation, and the perfidious murder 
of the rebel chiefs while feasting them in his tent. For that 
act Gordon threatened to put a pistol-ball into his head, and 
for that act the Chinese government adorned his cap with the 
buttons and feathers of the highest rank. On the final sup- 
pression of the rebellion Li came in for a place in the new- 
made peerage, being created an earl in perpetuity. 

An exception to the law of rotation, Li has held one post 
for twenty years, apparently as fixed as the pier of a bridge, 
which keeps its place however the tide may come and go. 
The prospect of permanence encouraged him to busy his fer- 
tile brain with plans for improvement which a stranger and 
sojourner would not have had courage to undertake. So in- 
dispensable has his charge of the chief viceroyalty been con- 
sidered that he was made an exception to another rule, to 
which all Chinese officials are bound both by law and by re- 
ligion. On the death of his mother it became his duty to lay 
down the insignia of office and spend three years mourning in 
sackcloth. A special decree required him to wait for a con- 
venient season to indulge his grief. When he renewed his 
petition the empress regent relented so far as to give him three 
months' leave of absence, instead of three years and a new 
post. 

While the majority of mandarins have to contend with - ov- 
erty in early life, it was Li's fortune to be born rich. His 
father was a landed proprietor with mandarin rank, and suffi- 
ciently opulent to have more wives than one. Our viceroy 
was the child of an inferior wife. Rumor whispered that this 
lady was a remote relation of the family and of the same 
name ; the union was therefore illegal. It further said that at 
the age of eighty, having in her own name (Chinese women 



NOTABLE MANDARINS 551 

retain their maiden name as do those of Russia) to acknow- 
ledge certain presents from the empress regent, her son induced 
her to write Ki for Li, that the secret of her marriage with her 
forty-seventh cousin might not come to the ears of the throne. 

During his long tenure of the viceroyalty Li has established 
a character as a friend of progress ; but that is not synonymous 
with being a friend of foreigners. May it not be the reverse, 
for have not all his efforts been directed toward arming his 
country for war? If she has come to grief in her conflict 
with Japan it is not Li's fault, but her misfortune in having 
but one such man. Under his auspices the navy was built, 
the two naval fortresses were equipped, naval and military 
schools established, coal-mines opened, a merchant marine or- 
ganized to fight foreigners in the field of commerce, an army 
of a hundred thousand armed and drilled ; finally, a railway, 
intended to meet that of Siberia, constructed as far as the ter- 
minus of the Great Wall. Like all great leaders, Li has 
understood how to select his agents. His chief representative 
in creating the splendid fleet of the China Merchant Company 
was Mr. Tang King Sing, who was educated in a missionary 
school, and trained to business in the great house of Jardine 
& Matheson. Writing to me about specimens of coal and 
iron which he desired to have analyzed at our college, Mr. 
Tang said, " The viceroy leads, but I am the man that pushes." 

Li and his wife have shown themselves conspicuous patrons, 
not of medical missions, but of certain missionaries who won 
thei- confidence, notably Dr. McKenzie and Mrs. Dr. King. 

Residing in Peking, I have had only two interviews with the 
illustrious vice-emperor. Calling on him five years ago, I was 
no stranger, nor was I treated as such. Many of my students 
were in his employ, one of my books had been honored with 
a preface from his pen, and correspondence had passed be- 
tween us before as it has since that date. The one disagree- 
able feature in our meeting was that, a Chinese exclusion bill 



352 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

having newly become law, he was full of bitterness against my 
country, venting his wrath the more freely as he considered 
me in the hght of a Chinese official. He dwelt on the subject 
at the greater length because he desired me to act as a sort of 
envoy to represent the feelings of his government to the Presi- 
dent and people of the United States. 

It was not the act of exclusion so much as the manner of it 
that roused his ire. Its passage, in violation of previous stip- 
ulations, was bad faith; that this was done while a newly 
signed treaty was under consideration, in which China took 
the initiative by agreeing to stop emigration, was discourteous, 
to say the least ; while the fact that, for political effect, it was 
rushed through on the eve of an election gave him a poor 
opinion of our form of government. When his fire had some- 
what slackened, I ventured to suggest that if he would look at 
home he would find a state of things not altogether creditable 
to China. 

" What, for example," I asked, " are Americans to think of 
those murderous attacks on foreigners of every nationality and 
occupation ? " 

" Those," he replied, " are the work of an excited populace ; 
but the oppressions to which our laborers are subjected come 
from your government, and a government that enacts iniquity 
is no government [pu che?igkwo\ What would you think if /" 
(he said wo^ using, as it were, a very big /) " should expel 
your missionaries ? " 

" I should think," I rephed, " that you were turning your 
arms against your best friends. I should also say that you 
were violating a precept of Confucius, which forbids you to 
vent your displeasure on the unoffending." 

This quotation from his own sacred book staggered him, 
and, bursting into a laugh, he said, " I have no intention of 
doing anything of the kind ; I only spoke of it for the sake of 
argument. The missionaries are good men, I know, but your 



NOTABLE MANDARINS 353 

code of morals is defective, as it seems to me, in one point : it 
lays too much stress on charity and too little on justice." 

In letting fly this Parthian arrow he meant that he would 
like a little less zeal for missions and a little more respect 
for treaty compacts. The conversation, of which I give only 
an outline, was thoroughly characteristic. In discussions with 
foreign envoys he is prone to banter, saying disagreeable things 
" for the sake of argument," and attacking with feigned as- 
perity. His thunder is usually followed by a burst of sun- 
shine, and no man knows better how to intersperse the Hght 
and shade, but he is deficient in that polished self-restraint 
which marks the well-bred mandarin. 

In our next interview I received his thanks for sundry ser- 
vices of a semi-diplomatic character which I had rendered to 
the Chinese government during my stay in the United States. 
After hearing my report he presented his two younger sons, 
and desired me to examine them in his presence as to their 
proficiency in English. When I recently passed through 
Tientsin on my homeward journey he was away on a tour of 
inspection to those twin fortresses that have so lately fallen 
into the hands of the Japanese. The treaty of peace was the 
crowning act of his busy Hfe. His rank, age, and character 
all marked him out for that mission, though it was pathetic to 
see the man who had done most for the defense of his coun- 
try knocking in suppliant guise at the gates of the conqueror. 
His credentials are contained in the following decree : 

" Being desirous of establishing sincere relations of amity 
with the Emperor of Japan, we specially appoint Li Hung 
Chang, earl of the first rank, senior grand secretary, viceroy of 
ChihH, and superintendent of trade for the northern ports, to 
be our ambassador, with full powers to confer with plenipoten- 
tiaries appointed by Japan, to settle the terms of a treaty of 
peace and to sign and seal the same. . . . 

" The terms of the treaty agreed upon must, however, be 



354 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

submitted for our inspection, and if found satisfactory they 
will receive our imperial sanction." 

Let it be noted that the formal title of plenipotentiary, which 
the Emperor of China never bestows until he is beaten in bat- 
tle, is not wanting here. How could it be when the peace 
mission of Changyinhoan a month earlier was rejected for 
want of it ? But what does it signify after all when the con- 
dition is appended that the terms agreed on ''must be sub- 
mitted for our inspection "? This means prior to signature as 
understood by Li himself, who asked and obtained the privi- 
lege of corresponding with his government in cipher. Is it not 
true, as Commissioner Tan declared,. that " the emperor is the 
only plenipotentiary "? 

Li's conduct of the negotiations, charging as it were up 
a hill, displays a rare combination of courage and tact. 
Beginning with the proposal of an armistice, he promptly 
declined it, leaving the Japanese to do their worst rather 
than comply with the conditions annexed, namely, the sur- 
render of the fortresses and munitions at Taku, Tientsin, and 
Shanhaikwan. Returning from his first interview with the 
Japanese plenipotentiaries, he had the good fortune to be 
wounded by an assassin, whose ball was so near proving fatal 
that the best surgeons did not dare to extract it. That single 
shot saved many a bloody battle ; for the Emperor of Japan, 
yielding to a generous impulse, granted the armistice without 
condition, apparently to expiate the crime of his subject. The 
same sentiment led him to mitigate the severity of the terms 
demanded by his representatives. Those concessions were 
not, however, like that of the armistice, a spontaneous expres- 
sion of feeling. They were made in answer to Li's criticism 
of the Japanese draft of the treaty. That criticism, so com- 
prehensive and acute that it deserves to take rank among the 
ablest documents of its class, was drawn up by him on his 
bed of suffering. He had, it is true, the advice of that most 



NOTABLE MANDARINS 355 

accomplished diplomatist, the Hon. J. W. Foster, but the 
paper as a whole expresses fairly the mental grasp and fearless 
spirit of the heroic old man. Seldom has a state paper in 
similar circumstances proved equally effective. In the way of 
indemnity it led the Japanese to deduct a hundred miUions of 
silver dollars from the amount demanded, while in the way of 
territory it induced them to withdraw their demand for the 
cession of Mukden, the old Manchurian capital, as well as 
the belt of land lying between it and the fortieth parallel. To 
those who are able to appreciate them these results have 
something of the aspect of a triumph ; yet it is unhappily but 
too certain that the name of Li Hung Chang will be branded 
with infamy by his ignorant countrymen as that of a man who 
consented to the disintegration of the empire. 

A pleasing episode in the events of those days is a letter of 
sympathy from the Japanese Christians of Nagoya, which, 
though one among many, seems to have made a considerable 
impression on the mind of the Chinese ambassador. Instead 
of simply returning thanks, as he might have done, he replied 
at length in terms both courteous and feeling. Here is a por- 
tion of his letter dictated from a bed of pain : " He is deeply 
moved by the kind solicitude expressed in your address, and feels 
that the prayers you have offered for his recovery cannot have 
been unheeded by the Power who controls human destinies. 
His escape from sudden death was little short of miraculous, 
and he believes that his life has been spared for some wise pur- 
pose. He may yet do some good to the world, and perhaps 
render a service to his country in endeavoring to restore peace." 

On the whole his mission to Japan has enhanced my admi- 
ration for the character of China's greatest statesman. 

3. Tungsui7i^ a Chinese Scholar 

Not only was Tungsuin a model scholar, he was a gentleman 
of perfect pohsh. He took a fancy to me when we first met, 



356 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

in 1863, my fondness for Chinese literature forming the first 
link in our attachment ; and for many years he was my friend 
and patron, aiding me with his ministerial influence. Being 
twenty years his junior, I was able to show him deference with- 
out loss of self-respect. He died at the age of eighty-five, 
keeping up his literary activity to the last. 

A voluminous author, he gave me copies of all his principal 
works, one of which, a topographical history of the Grand 
Canal, extended to forty-eight volumes. They were all written 
in the hurry of official life in such scraps of time as he was 
able to pick up in intervals of business or in hours snatched 
from sleep. 

Lord Brougham prided himself on having written a scien- 
tific dissertation while hstening to the pleading of a cause. 
Many a time have I seen Tungsuin driving his pen while as- 
sisting at an examination as one of the regents of the college ; 
nor would there be anything incredible in Brougham's per- 
formance had the pleadings, like the trials of our students, 
been wholly in writing. 

A prodigy of learning, he was not free from a streak of 
superstition. One of the houses which Sir Robert Hart 
bought for the professors happened to be next door to Tung, 
who objected to having it occupied by a foreigner. When I 
was made president. Sir Robert suggesting that he might 
waive his objections out of personal regard for me, I spoke to 
him on the subject. 

" You," he replied, " are one of my best friends. How can 
I object to your coming to be my neighbor? Only please 
don't build a high chimney near my wall." 

This request, which I comphed with, was prompted by a 
belief mfmtgshui, according to which a high object is liable to 
injure the luck of a place which it overlooks. He said he 
made it out of regard for the feelings of others, wishing me to 
think him above such weakness. It stuck to him nevertheless. 



NOTABLE MANDARINS 357 

A politer man I never knew. The expedient to which he 
once resorted to shield me from the consequences of my own 
awkwardness reminded me of a Prince of Wales, who saved the 
blushes of a country lady who drank tea from her saucer by 
promptly doing the same. At breakfast with several minis- 
ters, I rose to hand something across the table and clumsily 
overturned my chair. " Take away that chair," he said to a 
servant, "and have it repaired; something is wrong with its 
legs!" 

He was magnanimous as well as polite. Shortly after my 
appointment to the presidency of the college one of our stu- 
dents revealed to me the fact that he had been directed by 
the minister Tung to translate a document relating to me, add- 
ing with a frightened look, "Yes, and it is something very 
bad." He then showed it to me, and, to my surprise, I found 
it was a letter written by me to a newspaper after the defeat 
of the Allies at Taku in 1859, to prove that the Chinese gov- 
ernment did not intend loyally to observe the treaties made at 
Tientsin. It had found its way into a parliamentary blue 
book, and some one had sent it to the Yamen to do me an ill 
turn. CaUing on Mr. Tung soon after the translation had 
been put into his hands, I begged to offer some explanations, 
and began by asking him to notice the date of the document. 
"True," he exclaimed, glancing at the heading, "that was be- 
fore the war. Things are changed now. There is no use say- 
ing anything more on the subject," and he showed himself as 
warmly cordial as if I had not impugned the good faith of his 
government. 

Like many high officials whom I have known, Tungsuin 
rose from indigence by means of that admirable system of 
civil-service examinations, which the Chinese call a " ladder 
to the clouds." " I began," he said, " to support myself by 
teaching at eighteen, carrying on my studies at the same time. 
For twelve years I sat in the chair of a schoolmaster, and that 



35^ A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

means twelve hours a day ; but I was fortunate in winning one 
degree after another, and when, at the age of thirty-two, I 
gained the doctorate my days of drudgery were ended." He 
was at once assigned to an official duty, from which he rose to 
be provincial examiner, superintendent of grain transport, civil 
governor of the capital, minister of war, minister of finance, 
and member of the Board of Foreign Affairs. 

In the Tsungli Yamen it was he who drafted most of the 
despatches, the very able state papers of Prince Kung being 
really the productions of Tung's pen. How sincerely he was 
in sympathy with the cause of progress is apparent in some of 
them, especially in those relating to the founding of the col- 
lege. Sir Thomas Wade said of this kindly old man that he 
was " the most accomplished liar he ever knew." Tungsuin 
might have taken that as a compliment if he had heard it (and 
I am not sure that he did not hear it), for Chinese statecraft 
makes lying a duty. Did not European diplomacy, now so 
upright and downright, formerly require the same? Did not 
Louis XI. say to his ambassadors, " If they lie to you, you 
must lie still more to them "? Nor am I sure that diplomatic 
lying is even now a lost art. 

4. Pao Yu?i, a Ma?ichu Scholar 

On the Manchu side the grand chamberlain, Pao Yun, offers 
a fitting parallel. He also had been a schoolmaster. In fact, I 
may as well say here, of most of those I have occasion to men- 
tion, that they too have been schoolmasters. For in China, as 
elsewhere, rich youth are not generally laborious, and in Pao's 
early years a golden key was of less service than it is now. 
China's most eminent scholars have all been poor. It is rare 
to meet one who has not given himself a lift by teaching, 
either in public or in private. The reverence for teachers, in 
which the Chinese excel us as much as they do in respect for 



NOTABLE MANDARINS 359 

parents and ancestors, renders this expedient less disagreeable 
than it might be in some of our rural districts, where for a pupil 
to thrash his teacher is (or was) a sign of manhood, and barring 
the teacher out an ordinary pastime. 

Famous as scholar and wit, Pao was less voluminous as a 
writer than Tung, his authorship, so far as I know, being 
confined to two volumes of poems, of which he presented me 
a copy. One of them was made while he was on the road to 
Hangchau to preside at an examination, the verses composed 
in his palanquin during the day being written down at some 
wayside inn in the evening. A few verses of his on the fall 
of the Kung ministry enjoyed a considerable vogue, but their 
allusions are as occult as the science of the Mahatmas. 

" Through life, as in a pleasing dream, 
Unconscious of my years, 
In fortune's smiles to bask I seem — 
Perennial, spring appears. 

" Alas! leviathan to take 
Defies the fisher's art; 
From dreams of glory I awake — 
My youth and power depart. 

" That loss is often gain's disguise, 
May us for loss console. 
My fellow-sufferers, take advice, 
And keep your reason whole." 

After this specimen I am not confident that the reader will 
sigh for the " two volumes." Tung also was a poet, I omitted 
to mention. All educated Chinese write verse, but these two 
were full of the spirit of poetry. 

Once, when Mr. Burlingame was showing a book of engrav- 
ings to Prince Kung, the prince was struck with the beauty of 
one representing two girls in a canoe. Pointing it out to Pao 
Yun, the latter drew a hair-pencil from his pocket and wrote 
down ten lines of impromptu verse, with which the prince was 



36q a cycle of CATHAY 

greatly pleased. Remembering Tung's gift, he next called him 
out, and Tung with equal promptness executed the task as- 
signed ; nor was his composition in the least like task-work, 
but spirited as well as elegant. Both pieces were written with- 
out an erasure, and without a moment for reflection — a veri- 
table contest in improvisation. The prince praised him as 
much as he had the other, saying, in substance : Et vitula tu 
dignus et hie. I translated the verses for Mr. Burlingame, but, 
to my regret, neglected to keep a copy. Would two of our 
cabinet ministers or two of Queen Victoria's acquit themselves 
equally well? . , 

Both poets when in their prime were extremely handsome, 
and Pao, who was born under the same star with his Chinese 
compeer, and lived to a greater age, was to the last alike con- 
spicuous for nobleness of aspect and mental vivacity. Both 
were great jokers. It was a treat to hear them bandy their 
classic sally and repartee. In science they stood at the level 
of Virgil and Horace ; but Tung, who took a great interest in 
the college, and carefully read all my books, giving me the 
benefit of no little verbal criticism, was slowly emerging into 
broader views. Pao, whose thoughts never strayed beyond 
the rules of prosody, adhered to the old traditions. I once 
heard him in the presence of our students ridicule the doctrine 
of the earth's diurnal revolution, accompanying his jokes by 
peals of laughter, the students on their part smiling at the 
ignorance of the great minister. 

5. Wensiang, a Manehu Statesman 

The grand secretary, Wensiang, comes next to memory; 
and I observe no more order in introducing them than Ulysses 
did in calling up the shades. Born at Mukden, the old capi- 
tal of the reigning dynasty, he was a Manehu of the Manchus, 
and such was his prominence in both home and foreign politics 



NOTABLE MANDARINS 361 

that if I followed Plutarch I should offer him as a parallel for 
Li Hung Chang. He had been a hard student in his youth, 
but, after attaining the doctorate, statesmanship, and not letters, 
absorbed his thoughts. His thin crooked body and fine head 
reminded me of Talleyrand. Speaking of Wensiang, Sir Fred- 
erick Bruce once remarked to me that he had never encoun- 
tered a more powerful intellect. Sir Henry Pottinger said 
something similar of Keying; both judgments were exagger- 
ated by the surprise of finding such men in "heathen China." 

Though, properly speaking, China has no such office as 
prime minister any more than we have in the United States, 
yet for about ten years Wensiang was virtually premier of the 
empire, no statesman of his day and country comparing with 
him in point of influence. Instead of being sent to a viceroy- 
alty in the provinces, he was from the first retained at court, 
and it was he who took the lead in the work of reorganization 
after the second war, as well as in shaping the foreign policy 
of his government. 

Unhke the two preceding, who were indemnified for the 
struggles of early life by dying rich, he took a pride in living 
poor and dying so. When Secretary Seward was in China he 
wrote to Wensiang saying that he had heard so much of him, 
and had with him such official relations, that he desired to call 
on him at his house. The Tartar premier declined the honor, 
alleging that his ''humble dwelling was not fit to receive an 
illustrious visitor from beyond the seas," and instead called on 
Mr. Seward at the United States legation. Nor was the ex- 
cuse fictitious, for his house was- a hired one, and, as he 
paid for it only four dollars and a half per month, it could not 
be very splendid. Shen and Yen, two other grand secretaries 
of my acquaintance, afterward emulated his example of osten- 
tatious poverty, a distinction scarcely more creditable .to the 
morals of their country than was the fame of chastity acquired 
by certain Roman matrons. 



362 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

Wensiang abhorred opium, and took no^pains to conceal his 
disgust when he perceived it on the breath of his colleagues. 
The two old poets previously mentioned were equally free from 
any taint of opium ; but, like Lipo, China's favorite bard, they 
were great drinkers of rice-wine, which was not the case with 
Wensiang. To me he was always accessible, though over- 
burdened with w^ork. Finding him wheezing with asthma one 
day, he said to me : '' You have seen a small donkey drawing 
a great load and half choked by its collar. Well, that is a 
picture of me." In Peking, where wheelbarrows drawn by 
donkeys and pushed by men are the vehicles most used for the 
transport of merchandise, the simile was not far fetched. 

No better proof of Wensiang's enlightened views could be 
desired than the maxim which he laid down as the principle 
of his policy. " I shall be guided," he once said to me, " by 
the precept of Confucius : ' Pick out the good and follow it ; 
pick out the evil and avoid it.' We shall learn all the good 
we can from you people of the West." Unhappily for China, 
this remarkable man, from whom so much was to be expected, 
was snatched away prematurely— though a Chinese proverb 
says, " Death at fifty is not premature " — just as his country 
was becoming sufficiently tranquil to begin to act on his wise 
maxim. Since his death no high official has ever made men- 
tion of it. I have already related the sound advice as to sites 
for chapels which he sent to the missionaries of Peking. On 
another occasion he told me that he had heard missionaries 
were in the habit of reviling Confucius, and he appeared to be 
very indignant. " That," said I, " is a calumny ; for, though 
some crank may have spoken slightingly of the Sage, mission- 
aries as a rule treat his memory with great respect. What 
better proof is there than the fact that he is beholden to 
missionaries for the translation of his works into the languages 
of Europe? " 

Sensitive to anything like disrespect to his country or its in- 
stitutions, he at another time expressed displeasure at the des- 



NOTABLE MANDARINS Z^2> 

ecration of the dragon pool by British students, who turned 
it into a swimming-bath. For Taoism and the dragon he 
cared very httle, but this was a sacred place of his people, and 
had he not enjoyed the honor of sacrificing a tiger there to 
procure rain? 

Hearing that I had visited the Jews in Honan, he desired 
to learn something about them, giving me an opportunity to 
speak of our sacred book, which has God for its author and 
the Jews, as the channel of communication. " What a pity 
God did not also reveal the mysteries of mathematics! " he an- 
swered, dryly. He believed that Heaven inspired Confucius, 
but was not so clear in regard to the Hebrew prophets. I 
sent him my book on the Christian Evidences by way of giv- 
ing him further light and to show how little antagonism there 
is between the teachings of Christ and those of Confucius. 
As long as he lived the entire initiative of the Yamen rested 
with him. His courage was equal to his intelligence, and had 
his life been prolonged it is certain that he would have offered 
decided opposition to the absorption of Tonquin by the French. 
Would he have averted the fall of the Kung~ ministry, or 
precipitated a worse catastrophe? The race that produces 
such men as Wensiang and Pao Yun is not effete. 

6. Marquis Tseng, a Chinese Diplomat 

The Marquis Tseng, the second of the line, deserves a high 
place on this roll of honor. His services as diplomatic envoy 
will be mentioned in the next chapter. It remains to add here 
a few details by way of exhibiting the marquis at home. His 
father, Tseng Kofan, having taken a leading part in the suppres- 
sion of the Taiping rebelHon, was placed at the head of the new 
nobilty created to reward the loyalty of certain eminent Chi- 
nese whose devotion saved the Manchu house from extinction. 
The second marquis, Tseng Kitse, or " Gearkhan of Tseng," 
as he preferred to call himself, never saw military service, and 



364 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

had nothing martial in aspect or bearing. Homely in features 
and feeble in frame, he possessed great firmness of character, 
with no small share of mental vigor. Heir to a noble name, 
the gates of office flew open to him, without the necessity of 
running the literary gantlet. He was nevertheless a Bachelor 
of Arts and a superior scholar in Chinese. A volume of unpub- 
lished essays, of which he gave me a manuscript copy, shows 
him to have been a dihgent student of history and politics as 
understood by the statesmen of China. 

When, in 1877, Tseng arrived in Peking in obedience to 
imperial mandate to wait the wull of his Majesty, he was nearly 
forty years of age. In English he had made a beginning with 
a view to the diplomatic service, to which his attention had 
been directed by the mission to England of Kuo Sungtao, a 
family connection. Living in the far interior and seldom see- 
ing a white face, he made his way chiefly by the help of gram- 
mar and dictionary. Whether owing to seclusion, which de- 
prived him of the benefit of comparison, or to flattery, which 
always stands ready to inflate a nobleman, he was not a Httle 
vain of his proficiency, presenting his friends with fans bearing 
bilingual inscriptions, in verse of his own composition. On 
another page is a facsimile of one with which he honored me. 
The Chinese original is elegant, but the translation is a unique 
specimen of " Baboo English." 

" To combine the reasons of Heaven, Earth, and Man, 
Only the Sage's disciple, who is, can. 
Universe to be included in knowledge 
All men are, should, 
But only the wise man who is, could." 

Without entering himself as a student at college, he came to 
me for private instruction, seeking information more particu- 
larly in geography, history, and European politics, and sub- 
mitting for correction essays in Enghsh on those subjects. 
The hues above given, I need hardly say, are uncorrected ; 




Fan Presentld to Dr. martin by the Marquis Tseng, 



NOTABLE MANDARINS 



365 



nor need I add that they were written when he first came. 
He dined at my house two or three times a week, and on New- 
Year's day called on me in sable robe and fur cap adorned 
with peacock's plume and ruby button, such calls on that day 
being reserved for parents, teachers, and, official superiors. 

In speech he was fluent, but ungrammatical, and he always 
read and wrote with difficulty. Still the little that he knew 
proved of great advantage in social intercourse, which is half the 
battle in diplomacy, and contributed to make him what he was, 
the ablest envoy China has ever sent to reside in a foreign capital. 

For the success of the Marquis Tseng, of his predecessor 
and successors, it would not be fair to withhold a large share 
of credit from Sir 
Halliday McCartney, 
the able adviser to the 
Chinese legation in 
London. It was under 
the patronage of the 
first marquis that Sir 
Halliday became con- 
spicuous. Beginning 
as an army surgeon, he 
distinguished himself 
by operations not 
purely surgical against 
the Taipings, casting 
both shells and can- 
non, though without a 
particle of experience 
in military engineer- 



q 


1 


^m 


i^ 


^N 


^Iv 


J^^m 


|iU| 


i^^m 


|^H|^^PR^7^'^*iiih3l 


^^K&k%^:li^lmk 


aH^BHIH 



THE MARQUIS TSENG IN SUMMER DRI 



ing. Tseng Kofan, 

becoming viceroy of 

Nanking, made him superintendent of an arsenal at that city. 

For his place in London he is indebted to viceroy Li and Kuo 



366 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

Sungtao, both of whom were well acquainted with him and his 
career. 

The marchioness, who joined her husband in Peking shortly 
before his departure for England, had never seen a foreign 
lady until she made acquaintance with my wife. Graceful 
and refined in manners, hke other women of high rank she 
was unable to read or write her own language. Her two 
daughters were better educated, and one of them acted as 
her amanuensis. On starting to England the marquis an- 
nounced that her ladyship would beg to be excused from shak- 
ing hands with men, a point on which Chinese etiquette is so 
rigid that men and women in passing things to each other are 
required to lay them on a table instead of handing them 
directly. So far is this carried that one of the classic books 
raises the question whether, if a woman is drowning, it is per- 
mitted even to her brother-in-law to take her by the hand to 
save her hfe. 

After a few years in England she got bravely over her 
scruples. It may, however, be doubted whether anything she 
ever met with in the customs of the West gave her such a 
shock as she experienced in calling on the wife of one of our 
French professors after her return to Peking. Her attention 
was drawn to a magnificent embroidery covering a whole side 
of the room, and she was expected to admire it. " That," she 
whispered, as she gasped for breath, ''is a funeral pally 

The honors with which the marquis was welcomed on his 
return after an absence of nine years led us to anticipate a 
favorable reception for his progressive views. But from the 
day of his entrance into the Tsungli Yamen he found himself 
an object of suspicion — Hsii Yungi, an able conservative, be- 
coming his bitter opponent and doing all in his power to 
neutralize his influence. Here is an example of the way in 
which that was done. 

The emperor, after questioning the marquis on the subject 



NOTABLE MANDARINS 



367 



of education in the West, and referring to his well-known pro- 
ficiency in the English language, had the good sense to appoint 
him rector of the Imperial College. The office had not previ- 
ously existed, and it carried with it such powers as might have 
wrought a much-needed revolution in things educational ; but 
the next day the Yamen sent up a memorial saying that it 
would be well to have two rectors, nominating Hsii as col- 
league to the marquis. What headway could be expected with 
one pulling forward and the other backward? The viceroy 
Li was also against him, not as a conservative, but from fear 
for his leadership in the councils of the nation. There existed, 
moreover, a private pique : a daughter of the marquis married 
to Li's nephew had, with her father's consent, abandoned her 
husband, whose character was far from exemplary. 

This daughter was known in England as Lady Foresea 
Woods. A younger daughter. Lady Blossom, married her 




THE BRIDAL PAIR WORSHIPING A TABLET INSCRIBED WITH THE FIVE OBJECTS 
OF VENERATION — HEAVEN, EARTH, SOVEREIGN, PARENTS, TEACHERS. 



father's private secretary, acting, with his approval, on the 
English principle of marrying a man whom she knew and 
loved. The marriage festivities presented a happy combina- 
tion of the Asiatic and European. On that occasion the mar- 



368 



A CYCLE OF CATHAY 



quis invited his foreign friends, including many missionaries. 
Not long, alas! after that gay pageant the same individuals 
were invited to attend his funeral, in the same hall. 

As a statesman, whether representing his country abroad or 
sitting in her councils at home, the Marquis Tseng displayed 




AVERY CHAIR ARRIVING AT HER NEW HOME. 



prudence, patience, and firmness— the best qualities of his 
race. Before leaving England he gave his name to a notable 
paper in the " Oriental Quarterly," entitled " China, Asleep 
and Awake." It was supposed to foreshadow the goal toward 
which he intended to direct his energies. How far he suc- 
ceeded in waking the giant is obvious from the issue of the 
recent war. 



7. Li She 71 la Ji^ a Chinese Professor 

In this gallery of portraits Li Shenlan, one of our professors, 
merits a niche as the most eminent mathematician China has 
produced. Bom near Hangchau, in a section of country 
noted for literary cultivation, he became Bachelor of Letters 
at an early age, but soon ceased to compete for the higher 
degrees. He had hit on something more satisfying than 




tU Jo 



NOTABLE MANDARINS 369 

phrase-mongering. A mathematical work by one of the Jesuit 
missionaries had fallen into his hands and caused his latent 
genius to awake. Not only did he ransack libraries and 
read with understanding everything on the subject to be 
found in the language of his country ; he gave much of his 
time to original speculations, some of which he published, 
showing that he had stumbled on the idea of fluxions without 
having heard of either Newton or Leibnitz. 

Hearing of the arrival of foreigners in Shanghai, he went 
thither in quest of further light ; and meeting with Mr. Alex- 
ander Wylie, of the London Mission, aided him in putting into 
Chinese Herschel's Astronomy, De Morgan's Algebra, Euclid's 
Geometry (of which Father Ricci had translated the first part), 
Loomis's Conic Sections and Infinitesimal Calculus. Dr. 
Edkins also obtained his assistance in translating Whewell's 
Mechanics. These were to him so many successive revela- 
tions, and he rejoiced to find himself in a world of Hght instead 
of groping in search of it. Wylie, himself a good mathema- 
tician, greatly admired the talents of his collaborator, who, he 
assured me, had often seized the spirit of an abstruse passage 
when the translator was unable to get beyond the letter. The 
only advantage which the Englishman possessed over the 
Chinese lay in his access to the sources of scientific knowledge. 

The works above named having brought Mr. Li to the 
notice of high officials, he was employed as mathematician by 
Tseng Kofan, viceroy of Nanking. When the school of inter- 
preters molted into the College of Peking he was recommended 
to the Tsungli Yamen for a professorship. He was there when 
I was made president, and at first manifested a little jealousy ; 
but it soon wore off, and he became one of my best friends. 

"What do you think of Li Shenlan?" asked Wensiang, the 
prime minister. 

I had known Li for ten years, and I replied without hesita- 
tion, " He is a phoenix— a rare bird in China," 



370 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

'■■What a pity he is so old! " rejoined the minister. 

He was not over sixty, but the brightness of his intellect 
had begun to wane. Though he lived fifteen years, he pro- 
duced nothing new. His example, however, inspired our 
students with zeal for mathematical studies, though the diffi- 
culty of following his reasoning was aggravated by a villainous 
patois, which made him quite unintelligible to the people of 
Peking. It raised me greatly in his estimation when, through 
my familiarity with algebraic methods, I once succeeded, in 
solving a problem in a scientific magazine over which he had 
toiled without success. 

While he was with jMr. Wylie he came very near professing 
Christianity. Deterred by fear of prejudice to his official pre- 
ferment, he retained in considerable measure the impressions 
he then received. To my question, " Are you not lonely? " he 
answered, " How can I be lonely when God \Sha7igti\ is with 
me? " His faith, if he had any, was a compound of West and 
East. Professing to be a Confucian, he was an eclectic, graft- 
ing ideas ahke from India and the Occident on the doctrines 
of the Chinese Sage. Holding the vulgar idolatry in contempt, 
he still felt annoyed to have his countrymen regarded as 
heathen. " Why may not we send missionaries to your country 
as well as you to ours? " he once asked me. I might have an- 
swered, " Because water does not flow uphill," but I refrained 
from wounding his feelings, and replied, " Why don't you? 
Your missionaries would be treated in our country much bet- 
ter than ours are in yours." The fact is, as he was well aware, 
that Confucianism has nothing to propagate in the way of re- 
hgion, its ideas on that head being as faint and cold as moon- 
shine. As for the rival creeds of Buddha and Tao, they are 
scarcely able to keep themselves alive on their own soil. Of 
stout unwieldy form, massive head, and heavy features. Pro- 
fessor Li so much resembled the viceroy Tso that his likeness 
was once published for that of the conqueror of Kashgar. 



CHAPTER X 

EARLY DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS FROM CHINA TO THE WEST 

Pin's voyages — The Burlingame embassy — First mission to France — 
First to England — First to Germany — Chinese students in the United 
States — Coolies in Cuba — Chunghau's mistakes — Marquis Tseng's 
successes 

THE intercourse of states, as such, comes under the head 
of diplomacy. In ancient China such intercourse was 
frequent and well understood, the empire being divided into 
numerous principalities, nominally vassal, but really indepen- 
dent. On their consolidation, B.C. 240, diplomacy took its 
place among the lost arts. There was henceforth only one 
state, with no equals. All the kingdoms of eastern Asia, with 
the single exception of Japan, rendered voluntary homage to 
the greatness of the central empire— approaching the dragon 
throne as bearers of tribute, and feeling repaid by the privilege 
of an occasional exchange of untaxed commodities. China, 
on her part, disdained to send an embassy in return. Her 
missions were not those of reciprocal courtesy, but the acts of 
a superior conferring honors, or deciding disputes when ap- 
pealed to. No wonder that the claim of the nations of the 
West to treat on equal terms was rudely rejected until they 
proved themselves more than a match for China on the field 
of battle. Signing treaties extorted by arms, she was as anxious 
to keep diplomatists at a distance as generals, and not until the 
last defenses of the capital had fallen did she consent to their 
residence within its walls. A figment of the old exclusiveness 
Still remained. The court continued to be inaccessible to 

37? 



372 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

those who were accredited as ministers "near his Imperial 
Majesty." Subject to this restriction, the representatives of 
Occidental powers were freely received. But to receive is one 
thing, to send another. The large number of envoys from the 
West who came to offer the salutations of their masters fur- 
nished food for vanity, though few brought presents, and none 
called themselves bearers of tribute. To reciprocate these 
courtesies would have been to renounce a fancied superiority. 

Yet the TsungU Yamen at length saw the necessity of doing 
so. Wensiang took it for granted when, looking over my 
translation of Wheaton's " International Law," he said, " When 
we send ministers to Europe this will be our guide." But 
" when " ? The court, less enlightened, desired to defer in- 
definitely that humiliating necessity. Owing to its success in 
staving off the audience, it regarded itself as not in communi- 
cation with Western courts ; nor did it wish to establish with 
them relations of any kind. 

Mr. Hart was unwearied in his efforts to initiate reciprocal 
intercourse. He represented that foreign ministers in Peking 
would have it all their own way so long as China had no other 
channel by which to reach the ear of their sovereigns. His 
arguments made an impression, but the step was too serious to 
be undertaken hastily. It occurred to him that a mission of 
observation might pave the way. Getting leave to go home 
for personal reasons in 1866, he proposed that a commissioner 
should accompany him to England and make an experimen- 
tal visit to other treaty powers. Pinchun, a respectable old 
Manchu who had filled the post of prefect, was at that time 
acting as private secretary to the inspector-general. Express- 
ing himself as willing to brave the dangers of the deep, he was 
designated to proceed to the Western world, not as minister, 
but as a sort of diplomatic scout. 

Accompanied by two young men, one English and one 
French, from the customs service, as also by three students 



EARLY DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS 373 

from the school of interpreters, he had a considerable retinue, 
put on something of the state of an ambassador, and was 
lionized through Europe. He was everywhere received by- 
crowned heads, though not provided with credentials entithng 
him to such distinction, and, with long beard, wise look, and 
courtly bearing, he everywhere made a favorable impression. 
What was more important, the impressions made on him he 
carefully recorded in two forms— one a volume of verse, the 
other a prose narrative, the realism of the latter correcting the 
romance of the former. He first rushes into rhyme on finding 
himself on board a steamer in the hei shtii ya7ig^ the "dark- 
watered ocean," an epithet at least as good as the ''wine- 
faced ocean " of Homer. He next invokes the muse to cele- 
brate the wonders of Shanghai, one of which was a bright, 
lacquered, easy-going spring-carriage, in which he was treated 
to a drive in company with fair ladies. Is not his enthusiasm 
natural when we remember that Chinese carriages have no 
springs and that mandarins never drive with Chinese women? 
But I must give the reader his own lines, unadulterated by any 
fancy of my own : 

" No a list's pencil can do them justice, 
Those fair ones of the West! 
Slender and graceful their waists ; 
Long and trailing their skirts. 
When they pass you to windward, 
A strange fragrance is wafted to your nostrils. 
I have taken them by the hand, 
And together ascended a lacquered chariot. 
Their whiteness comes not from starch, 
Nor their blush from cinnabar, 
For nature's colors spurn the aid of art. 
Their twittering words are hard to comprehend, 
But I do not yield to Minghuang in interpreting the language of 
flowers." 

In Europe railways and telegraphs kindle his imagination, 



374 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

both being equally strange ; and courts, camps, and cities are 
all mirrored in that book of verse. If the poetry is not of the 
highest order, it is safe to say that never had Chinese poet an 
equal opportunity for expressing the emotion of surprise. 

The prose narrative is a meager selection from his official 
reports, embodying only what he thought it prudent to pub- 
hsh ; for it was then a crime to show any leaning toward the 
things or people of the West. For every word of praise he no 
doubt had ten of censure, for which, hke Usbek in the " Per- 
sian Letters," he easily found material; but the censure was 
confidential and did not appear in print. 

The next year the Chinese government launched its first 
diplomatic mission. Prepared though it was by the reports of 
Pinchun, it still hesitated ; but an unforeseen occurrence pre- 
cipitated the decision. Mr. Burlingame, having filled two 
terms as minister, was about to return to the United States to 
resume his place in the political movements of the day. Packed 
for the voyage, he called at the Yamen to take leave of Prince 
Kung and his colleagues, the prince inviting me to act as in- 
terpreter. After professions of regret, which were profuse and 
sincere on both sides, Mr. Burlingame offered to serve them 
by correcting misapprehensions. 

" There is a great deal to be done in that line," said the 
prince. "Are you going through Europe?" 

Mr. Burhngame answering in the affirmative, the prince re- 
quested his good offices at the courts of Paris and London, 
especially the latter. Wensiang, always the chief spokesman, 
enlarged on the nature of the representations to be made, and 
added, " In short, you will be our minister." 

" If it were possible," interposed the prince, " for one min- 
ister to serve two countries, we should be glad to have you for 
our envoy." 

This remark, uttered half in jest, was the germ of the Bur- 
lingame mission. It struck Burlingame as opening a pleasing 



EARLY DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS 375 

vista of possibilities. To a temperament like his the prospect 
of being the first to introduce the old empire of the East to 
the courts of the Western world was irresistibly fascinating. 
It might delay, but might it not help, his political career? 

Nothing further at the time was said on the subject, and 
after arranging for a farewell interview at the United States 
legation the parties separated. Instead of going directly 
home, Burlingame went around to see Hart. He found him 
not only in sympathy with the prince's wish, but, with char- 
acteristic readiness of resource, prepared to make an effort to 
carry it into effect. 

In taking the matter up so promptly Hart was possibly in- 
fluenced in some degree by a desire to serve Burlingame in 
return for his having helped him to the inspector-generalship. 
But he recognized the opportunity as just what he had longed 
for : on one hand, to draw China out of her shell ; on the other, 
to have her represented abroad by a man of tact and experi- 
ence, backed by the influence of a powerful nation. So ener- 
getically did he pull the wires that at the farewell interview the 
prince placed in Mr. Burlingame's hands an imperial decree 
appointing him envoy extraordinary, with a general mission to 
the treaty powers. A similar commission. Hart afterward told 
me, had been offered to himself. He did not entertain the 
proposal ; whether on account of his youth and want of pres- 
tige, or because he feared that, like Lay's commission to buy 
a fleet, it might cost him the position he then enjoyed, he did 
not say ; but hie added : " This will make the post respectable for 
somebody else at some future time," showing that the tempting 
vision had not been wholly banished. 

Two native oi^cials, one of them a Tartar well known to 
me, were associated with Mr. Burlingame, an arrangement es- 
sential to confidence on the part of China, and committing her 
to the policy of sending her own people, while it enhanced the 
dignity of the chief envoy. 



376 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

The " Ecumenical Embassy," as it was facetiously called, 
made a great noise, especially in the United States, but its 
objects were misunderstood and its results disappointing. From 
a fervid passage in one of Burlingame's after-dinner orations 
it was inferred that missionaries were invited to " set up the 
shining cross on every hill," that engineers were to be engaged 
to open mines, and, to complete the program, that all the ap- 
pliances of Western civilization were to follow in quick succes- 
sion. The pleasing prospect was no doubt described as in the 
paullo-post-future ; but people of warm imagination took it 
in the present tense. One of these was Mr. Ross Brown, his 
successor in the United States legation, who, recalled after a 
brief tenure of office, made no secret of his lost illusions. 

Instead of expediting the development of the country, the 
real aim of the embassy was to obtain delay, to set forth the 
embarrassments of China impoverished by a foreign war and 
wasted by intestine rebeUions, to crave the indulgence of 
Western powers and induce them to recognize the right of 
China to take her own time and proceed in her own way. 
This right was expressly recognized in the unfortunate treaty 
made in Washington in 1868. I call it " unfortunate " because 
its most progressive article, that which acknowledged a " tend- 
ency toward homogeneity of civilization " and engaged to 
introduce a silver coinage, was objected to by the Chinese 
government and excepted from ratification, while twelve years 
later its stipulations in favor of free emigration were denounced 
and abrogated by our government. The draft of that docu- 
ment was drawn up, not by Mr. Burlingame, as generally sup- 
posed, but by Mr. Seward, as the " great secretary " himself 
told me with no little satisfaction ; but it goes without saying 
that he embodied the ideas of the Chinese envoys. 

Two parties were thrown into a state of anxiety by the en- 
thusiastic reception accorded the embassy. The Chinese were 
alarmed to see it taken as a harbinger of the new era which 



EARLY DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS 377 

they sought to postpone. When Dr. Williams went to the 
Yamen to exchange ratified copies of the treaty (I acting as 
interpreter) the Chinese ministers expressed their apprehensions 
without reserve, reiterating in substance what Wensiang had 
previously said : " Why should you Westerns be so impatient 
to have us move? When China does make a start she will 
move faster than you wish." On the other hand, the friends 
of progress dreaded its effect in lulling the Chinese into indif- 
ference. Nor was Mr. Hart himself free from misgivings on 
that head. "Should it have that effect," he said to me, "it 
were better it had never been born." He had favored it as a 
progressive measure, a necessary step toward bringing China 
into the family of nations. 

In England and France the mission was courteously received 
and made a long halt, but nothing was concluded. In a letter 
to me from London, Burlingame expressed himself as confident 
of eventual success. His last communication was a telegram, 
via Siberia, addressed to me for the Tsungli Yamen, reporting 
a favorable reception at Berhn : " Concluded negotiations with 
Prussia. Strong declaration by Bismarck in favor of China. 
Now to Russia!" 

No convention was signed in any of the three capitals, but 
preliminaries were arranged, and definite negotiations reserved 
for another visit, to be made after the lapse of a few months. 
The embassy proceeded to Russia, and there the curtain fell 
on the career of its brilliant chief. In the wording of this last 
despatch there is no trace of discouragement ; had he been 
spared a little longer, it is highly probable that he would have 
succeeded in obtaining a treaty from each of the four great 
European powers, in which case his mission would have been 
not a failure, but a splendid success. Failure it was from a 
diplomatic point of view, terminating as it did ; yet not a whit 
the less must we see in it an indispensable link in the chain 
that was drawing the West and the East together. 



37^ A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

Our government was fortunate in having Anson Burlingame 
for its first representative at Peking. Before going there he 
had been objected to by Austria because on the floor of Con- 
gress he had spoken of her "iron rule," referring to her treat- 
ment of Hungary. A finished orator, he was a man of broad 
sympathies, capable of enthusiasm in a good cause, and en- 
dowed with indomitable energy. When Preston Brooks, infu- 
riated by Sumner's attack on slavery, assailed him with a deadly 
bludgeon at the door of the Senate, it was Burlingame who 
came forward as avenger. Brooks declined to meet him on 
the field of honor, and that affair did more to bring him before 
the eyes of the nation than all his eloquent speeches. One 
day, in Indianapolis, as he stepped down from the platform 
after a campaign oration, his hand was grasped by Tom Mar- 
shall, of Kentucky. Expressing some surprise that the South- 
ern statesman had come so far to hear him speak, " It was not 
to hear you speak," replied Marshall, "but just to see the man 
who was not afraid to go to Niagara." His real motive was 
to express his disapproval of Brooks's brutality. Irregular as 
Burlingame's action was, it gave him the mission to China. 

Representing an unaggressive country, and full of personal 
magnetism, he was not long in acquiring an ascendancy in the 
diplomatic corps. Under his influence that body adopted and 
pursued for a time what was known as the " cooperative pol- 
icy." Sinking petty differences, the legations agreed to act 
together as far as possible in order to secure their common 
ends and promote the good of China. Had they continued 
in that spirit until the present day, who can doubt that the 
moral force derived from union would have had a beneficial 
effect in stimulating progress and deterring from outrage? 

Burlingame and the British minister were particularly inti- 
mate, a day rarely passing without the latter appearing at the 
United States legation to drink tea and discuss the questions 
of the hour. Each imagined that he was leading the other. 



EARLY DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS 



379 



Like double stars, their influence was mutual, but in power 
of persuasion Bruce was no match for Burlingame. His suc- 
cess in inducing the 
British representative 
to consent to the dis- 
missal of the Lay- 
Osborne flotilla was a 
signal event in his dip- 
lomatic career. From 
that day his influence 
with the Chinese was 
conspicuous, and it 
grew until it clothed 
him with the honors 
of an ambassador to 
half the universe. 

How much the 
government was dis- 
posed to profit by the 
experience of its of- 
ficials acquired in that 
expedition may be 

seen in the fact that one of BurHngame's associates was sent 
into honorable exile as governor of a post on the frontier of 
Mongoha, while the other was buried in an equally obscure 
region of western China. There was no disposition to follow 
it up by permanent missions. To bring the government to 
that point more than one lesson of the rudest sort was still 
required. 

Those lessons were not long delayed. The next year (June, 
1870) occurred the Tientsin massacre, a bloody tragedy, which 
must have precipitated a conflict with France but for the 
bloodier scenes of the Franco-German War. So obviously 
was China in the wrong that, notwithstanding the impos- 




MINISTERS OF THE FIRST FOUR TREATY POWERS. 
BERTHEMY, VLANGALI, BRUCE, BURLINGAME. 



380 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

sibility of immediate vengeance, the French representative 
succeeded in inducing the government to avert future danger 
by paying a heavy indemnity and sending a special envoy to 
make a humble apology. The envoy chosen was Chunghau, 
superintendent of the northern ports, an amiable official, to 
whose indecision the deplorable occurrence was mainly due. 
On the eve of setting out he requested me to select oixe of our 
students to act as interpreter for the French language. I 
named Mr. Tching Tchang, a young Catholic, who has since 
continued in the service and greatly distinguished himself, 
being more than once charge d'affaires at Paris and intrusted 
with special missions in connection with the Pamir question. 
For English interpreter he took Mr. Chang Toyi, a student 
who had accompanied the Burlingame mission, afterward 
English tutor to the emperor. 

When Chunghau arrived in France the government was still 
at Bordeaux. Proceeding to Paris after the suppression of the 
Commune, he was shown the sewers of the city. Entering at 
one point and emerging at another, his attention was struck 
by a vast concourse that greeted his reappearance, and he in- 
ferred that this subterranean transit, during which he had been 
trampled over by the feet of thousands of French people, was 
a premeditated indignity, designed to expiate the misdeeds of 
his countrymen. Two Brazilian princes, he was told, had 
visited the sewers the same day, but it is probable that he per- 
sisted in regarding himself as a vicarious victim. On his 
return he spoke to me of the havoc made by siege and insur- 
rection, adding that France was still a formidable power, "a 
wounded tiger, not to be trifled with." What he saw of the 
power of France only served to give him and his people a 
more exalted estimate of that of Germany, before which they 
have been disposed to bow down and worship ever since. 

The mission to England in 1876 had a similar origin. Its 
primary object was to avert war by apologizing for an outrage, 



EARLY DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS 381 

the official murder of a young Englishman by the name of 
Margary ; but in this instance we have to note a step in ad- 
vance — the minister was appointed to reside in England for a 
term of years. For this post the choice fell on Kuo Sungtao, 
a man of genial manners and of high repute in the Chinese 
world of letters, member of the HanHn Academy, and ex- 
governor of the province of Canton. 

Shortly after his arrival in the capital, to which with many 
high officials he had been summoned to wait for an appoint- 
ment, he came to call on me ; and the same day I received a 
call from General Tseng (brother of the first marquis), who 
had been a provincial governor and was afterward viceroy of 
Nanking. Both asked me what particular measure I would 
recommend as of first importance for China. I replied, " The 
establishment of permanent legations in the leading countries 
of the West." On receiving his appointment Mr. Kuo re- 
minded me of the opinion I had expressed, and professed to 
have been much struck by it. A friend of his by the name of 
Liu, who by his request was associated with him as vice-min- 
ister, was annoyed to find himself regarded in the light of a 
secretary. He quarreled with his chief and denounced him 
for unpatriotic compliance with foreign usages. Touching at 
Malta on their way to England, they were invited by the gov- 
ernor to inspect the fortifications. During a sudden shower 
the governor threw h s cloak over the gay robes of the Chinese 
minister. Kuo's acceptance of this kindness was represented 
as a disgrace to his country — not less than if he had allowed the 
English flag to be raised above the Chinese. 

Deeming him the right man to uphold the honor of the Flowery 
Land, the government gave this ill-natured creature a commis- 
sion as minister to Germany. During his sojourn at Berlin, 
which was very short, he made himself supremely disagreeable 
by petty quibbles, such as an obstinate determination to use red 
cards in official visits. On his homeward voyage, the passen- 



382 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

gers were much excited one morning by a squall that had its 
origin in the cabin of the Chinese minister. His servant was 
seen cowering on the floor, while the master was menacing 
him with something dreadful in an unknown tongue. Some 
of the officers calhng an interpreter, Liu explained that on 
going to sleep he had laid his false teeth in a wash-basin, and 
that the servant had thrown them into the sea ; exclaiming in 
tones of despair, " What shall I do? If I have no teeth, how 
can I see the emperor? " He was pacified by the assurance 
that his loss could be repaired at Shanghai. His patriotism was 
not proof against the seductions of artificial teeth. Liu's re- 
ports, which I have read, were full of bitter invective against 
the people of the West ; those of Kuo were of a different 
character, and probably for that reason he was allowed to go 
into retirement. 

The Rubicon having been crossed by sending a permanent 
mission to England, missions to other countries were appointed 
soon after, beginning with Chenlanpin and Yung Wing to the 
United States, Hojuchang and Changluseng to Japan. It 
has been the custom for China to send envoys in pairs to vas- 
sal states, and the old usage was adhered to in the three mis- 
sions last named. In every case an intolerable friction soon 
declared itself between the parties thus unequally yoked. The 
vice-minister was generally, to his own disgust, treated by the 
foreign court merely as a secretary, and the Chinese govern- 
ment has, not without reluctance, abandoned the dual system 
in so far as treaty powers are concerned. 

Chenlanpin and Yung Wing had been associated in an 
" educational mission " which brought one hundred and twenty 
youth to the United States. Yung Wing, himself a graduate 
of Yale, had conceived the idea of the mission and induced 
the high authorities to adopt it. Chen, an academician of 
conservative principles, as they all are, was placed over him 
and his students as a check on progressive tendencies, When 



EARLY DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS 383 

both were promoted to diplomatic honors the educational 
mission was left to the tender mercies of another academician 
named Wu. Finding that the young men were becoming 
infected with repubhcanism and Christianity, some of them 
going the length of marrying American wives, Wu advised his 
government to recall them and send no more. The fruits of 
that enhghtened enterprise were blighted just as they were be- 
ginning to ripen. If its originator, in every way a remarkable 
man, deserves to be named with honor, the author of its un- 
timely fate ought not to be forgotten. I knew him well as an 
amateur photographer, a dabbler in foreign science, and super- 
intendent of a school at Canton. He studied English when 
over fifty, but his old prejudices were too deep to be eradi- 
cated. 

To revert to Chenlanpin : in an interval prior to his elevation 
he had conducted a mission of inquiry into the condition of 
Chinese coolies in Cuba. In addition to a detailed report he 
published some verses depicting the life of a coolie : 

** His miseries are not ended by death ; 
His charred bones are ground to powder, 
To whiten the sugar ' of Havana.' '* 

These I reprinted in a Chinese magazine along with an 
article in which I referred to the " blundering philanthropy of 
Las Casas in substituting black slaves for red. The time had 
now come for yellow to take the place of black at the behest 
of antislavery sentiment, not more inteUigent than that of a 
Chinese prince, who, pitying an ox, ordered a sheep to be 
sacrificed in its stead." My paper deepened the determination 
of the Chinese authorities not to permit their people to be 
made the " sheep " of the fable. Needless to say, it drew on 
me the hostility of those interested in the coolie traffic. 

Chen was recalled to Peking, not to be quietly shelved, like 
most of his predecessors, but to take a place on the Board of 



384 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

Foreign Affairs. Bland, affable, and venerable in aspect, he 
possessed no ability higher than that of making mechanical 
verse and regulation essays. 

In conforming to new usages the Chinese always preserve 
as much as possible of their old traditions. It had been their 
custom not only to send ministers in pairs, but to choose them 
from the ranks of the Hanlin. In each of these three missions 
the chief was a Hanlin. China is learning, however, that for 
responsibilities of that sort solid acquirements are better than 
the niceties of Chinese scholarship ; but when, as with Mr. 
Wang, a recent minister to Japan, the two can be combined, 
the conditions for selection are specially favorable. Mr. 
Wang, as already mentioned, to the honors of the Hanlin 
Academy adds those of a Tungwen graduate. 

In 1878 Chunghau was sent to Russia to arrange for the 
restoration of Hi. His experience in France recommended 
him, and his official dignities as member of the Board of For- 
eign Affairs and military governor of Shengking gave him 
weight. To give him a further increment of prestige the em- 
peror conferred on him a rank equivalent to that of ambassa- 
dor. He was treated accordingly, loaded with attentions, and 
admitted to negotiate directly with the czar. Outwitted in 
diplomacy, he committed the error of yielding all the stra- 
tegic positions in the disputed territory, and the greater folly of 
returning home when he thought his mission completed with- 
out waiting for permission. He arrived to find his treaty re- 
pudiated and to be cast into prison before he had crossed the 
threshold of his own home. He was condemned to death, 
and all the members of the diplomatic corps interceded for 
him without further result than perhaps to obtain an unacknow- 
ledged respite. 

Called on to draw up for the eyes of the government a 
memorandum of the usages of the West in similar cases, I 
pointed out that Christian nations visit diplomatic failures with 



EARLY DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS 



385 



no heavier penalty than dismissal, but that Turkish envoys 
have been frequently brought to the bowstring— leaving them 
in no doubt as to the company in which they would place 
themselves. Chunghau was eventually released in response to 
a personal appeal made by the Queen of England to the Em 
press Dowager, but the captive emerged shorn of his plumes, 
and from that day he never held any office of emolument or 
honor. Even his ancestors to the third generation had been 
made to share in his degradation. Coming to see me some 
years later, he told me with evident gratification that their 
honors had been restored to the deceased worthies at the re- 
quest of his nephew, 
whose ancestors they 
were also, the nephew 
having risen to the 
governorship of a 
province. Shortly 
before Chunghau's 
appointment the 
Marquis Tseng in- 
formed me that he 
had been promised 
the next diplomatic 
mission. Coming to 
my house a few days 
later, he learned of 
the nomination of 
Chunghau. He felt 
mortified and com- 
plained of bad faith 
on the part of the 
ministry ; but I con- 
gratulated him on having escaped a peril and consoled him 
with the assurance that Russian grapes were sour. It would, 



'V 




sENG IN WINTER DRESS. 



386 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

I said, be extremely difficult to compel the Russian bear to 
disgorge, and I ventured to predict that he would get instead 
a mission to England or to the United States. The prediction 
was fulfilled, but it required no inspiration to make it, as the 
marquis spoke English, besides having a family connection 
with Kuo Sungtao, the first minister to London. He was 
accredited to France as well as to England, and after the fall 
of Chunghau he was sent on a special mission to Russia. In 
England he succeeded in improving relations that were already 
excellent. In France he upheld the dignity of his country in 
trying circumstances, but was compelled to withdraw by the 
outbreak of war. In ^JT^'^j pr^ifiting by thf" migfaVpg_nf his- 
predecessor, he came off with flying; colors . He was not 
pleased to be reminded how narrowly he had escaped the 
fate of Chunghau. After an absence of nine years he re- 
turned to Peking to be loaded with honors as the most suc- 
cessful diplomatist China has sent abroad in modern times 
It was a good sign when the government showed a disposition 
to profit by his experience, appointing him to a seat in the 
Tsungh Yamen ; but we have seen how abortive were his 
efforts to effect reforms. 



CHAPTER XI 

CHINA AND HER NEIGHBORS 

Relations with Russia — With Great Britain — With France — Aims of 
Germany — The four powers 

TT is only recenllytha-t China -has come to know what it is 
X to have neighbors. In earlier times she had none. Sep- 
arated from India and Persia by mountains and deserts, all 
states that held communication with her accepted the position 
of vassals. All she asked of them was homage, and they sel- 
dom gave her trouble. But when powers strong enough to 
impose conditions presented themselves, demanding to treat 
on a footing of equality, she no longer stood alone, protected 
by her isolation. This change in her situation is described by 
a Chinese statesman as the " greatest poHtical revolution that 
has taken place since the abolition of the feudal system, in the 
days of the builder of the Great Wall." It was going on long 
before she became aware of it. From the day when Bartholo- 
mew Diaz doubled the Cape, and from that other day, a cen- 
tury later, when Ye mak crossed the Ural, the wakening ambi- 
tion of Europe began to direct itself in two streams toward 
the shores of eastern Asia. Three of the European powers, 
conquering all that lay in their way, gradually pushed their 
frontiers up to those of China, which awoke — if she has 
awaked— to find herself not merely one of many, but one of the 
weakest, her existence imperiled by the necessity of drifting 
down the stream of time in company with stronger neighbors. 

387 



388 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

Relations with Russia 

To begin with the Russians. They were formerly known as 
Oroses, a tribe of Tartars, conquered by a son of Genghis 
Khan. Their feebleness, no less than their distance, freed 
China from any soHcitude on their account. When, in the 
reign of Kanghi, they imprudently overstepped their limits, 
did not that emperor easily reduce their fortress of Albazin 
and carry its garrison captive to Peking? That defeat Russia 
never resented ; but she profited by it to introduce the thin 
edge of her matchless diplomacy, establishing religious and 
political missions in Peking more than a century in advance 
of other powers. When the English and French came as vic- 
torious enemies they found the Russians installed there as 
friends of the Chinese. 

As the price of neutrality — probably of indirect assistance — 
they obtained the cession of a portion of Manchuria, east of the 
Usuri, giving them nearly a thousand miles of sea-coast, with 
complete control of the lower Amoor. The opening of the 
Suez Canal brought their southern ports as near to China as 
those of France or England. China saw with dismay that the 
petty state she once chastised had grown to be a mighty em- 
pire, and was building a naval stronghold within a few days of 
her capital. It may be difficult to say which of her neighbors 
she loves least, but it is easy to perceive which she fears most. 

In 1880 China came very near being involved in war with 
the northern colossus. To recover the territory of Hi, occu- 
pied by Russia during a revolt of the Mohammedan popula- 
tion, she despatched, as elsewhere related, to the court of the 
czar an ambassador, who negotiated for its restoration. When 
the treaty was submitted for ratification, Chang Chitung, a 
bold, clear-headed member of the Board of Censors, denounced 
it for leaving important strategic positions in the hands of the 
Russians. The treaty was rejected, and preparations for war 



CHINA AND HER NEIGHBORS 389 

were made on both sides. The viceroy Li sent for his old 
friend, Gordon, beheving that any force he might lead would 
be " ever victorious," as that had been with which he crushed 
the Taipings. It was a splendid chance to gain power and 
renown, but the unselfish hero came to counsel peace. He 
warned the Chinese government not to provoke a conflict, " or 
the Russians would be in Peking in sixty days." 

Without receding an inch from her resolve to regain the dis- 
puted territory, China made up her mind to try diplomacy once 
more ; and Russia, exhausted by her war with Turkey, thought 
best to yield the point. This result had the effect of inspiring 
the Chinese with confidence in their ability to resist aggression 
(as the French found to their cost), and the event was signal- 
ized by the elevation of the bellicose censor to the offices of 
governor and viceroy. Their new-found confidence was rudely 
shaken by the announcement of the Trans-Siberian Railway 
scheme. When they saw the vigor with which that enterprise 
was being pushed forward, their answer to it was the cancel- 
ing or postponement of a line through central China, and the 
building of one to meet the Russian road at its eastern ex- 
tremity. They at the same time directed a current of emigra- 
tion toward the thinly peopled provinces of Manchuria. Says 
Mr. Paul Popoff, a Russian, writing in 1887: "The rush of 
emigrants has been great during the last six or seven years, 
when the Chinese government, on account of a possible con- 
flict with us, turned its special attention to Manchuria, and in- 
troduced administrative reforms intended to transfer to it all 
the rules of China proper. It appHes its efforts to turn to ac- 
count the natural riches of the country, and to secure protec- 
tion of person and property. But the principal thing is that 
the government, by means of different exemptions, endeavors 
to attract population from other provinces." Not only will 
China thus have a body of settlers to defend their homesteads ; 
she will be able to transport troops by her new railway, suffi- 



390 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

cient at least to meet any land force that Russia can assemble 
at that distant point. In estimating the strategic value of the 
Siberian road, vulnerability is to be taken into account. Too 
long to be effectively protected, it runs for three thousand 
miles so near the common frontier that Tartar cavalry, mak- 
ing a sudden raid, might cut the line at any one of a hundred 
places. Its danger to China consists not so much in serving 
for purposes of attack in the near future,- as in peopling the 
country through which it passes. 

Whatever the design of that road, the Russians are as con- 
fident of one day possessing Peking as they are of getting Con- 
stantinople. " I expect to live to be governor of PechiH " (the 
metropolitan province), said a young Russian in my hearing, at 
a legation dinner, or rather after dinner — i?i vifio Veritas. Rus- 
sia has no need to be in a hurry. Whoever shakes the tree, 
she stands ready to pick up the fruit. Much as she profited 
by England's wars to rectify her frontier, she has gained more 
by Japan's recent victory. It has enabled her to pose as the 
defender of Manchuria, and to take the lead in delivering China 
from her financial straits. She is not likely to suffer the latter 
to forget that "the borrower is servant to the lender." 

Relations with Great Britain 

Great Britain's relations with China fill so large a space in 
the preceding chapters that a brief outline will here suffice. 
England first became known to China as possessing a fraction 
of the decaying empire of the Great Mogul. The colony at 
Bombay, as harmless apparently as the Portuguese colony at 
Macao, she had seen expanded until it covered the whole pen- 
insula and became her neighbor on the southwest. The feel- 
ing awakened by this spectacle is expressed by a popular writer 
of the last century, in the apologue of the " Magic Carpet," 
cited in the opening chapter. 

Of England's mihtary force she has twice made trial, being 



CHINA AND HER NEIGHBORS 391 

badly beaten each time. Yet on two occasions have the Chi- 
nese risked a fresh colHsion rather than submit to humiHating 
conditions. Their determined attitude in the affair of the 
Lay-Osborne flotilla, and in the Margary affair, their positive 
refusal to place a viceroy under arrest, prove that there are 
limits to the concessions the Chinese may be expected to make, 
even when they know that they are unable to oppose force to 
force. To overthrow the government would be easy ; to com- 
pel it to trample on old traditions, next to impossible. 

So persistently have British ministers striven to convince the 
Chinese that they desire nothing but trade, that a few of the 
mandarins have come to believe the assertion, and have re- 
peated it in memorials to the throne as a reason for dismiss- 
ing all apprehension of attempts at conquest from the side of 
Great Britain. Her moderation in the first war, in taking a 
rock when she might have taken a province, and in the second, 
in taking nothing when she might have taken all, proves the 
sincerity of her desire to see the Chinese empire independent 
and prosperous. But to the mass of the Chinese and to the 
most of their rulers it proves nothing but weakness or stupid- 
ity ; for, in their reading of history, no man refrains from seiz- 
ing a province or an empire who feels himself able to keep it. 
If England withdrew from Peking after taking it in i860, did 
not the rebel, Li Tzecheng, do the same in 1644? On them the 
lesson is lost ; they believe the EngHsh to be " uncontrollably 
fierce and violent," as their emperors have described them ; 
that their attitude has always been one of aggression, and 
always will be, no matter under what specious forms their de- 
signs may be veiled. Suspicion and hostihty are the legacy of 
two wars. That those wars were not unprovoked we can see, 
but the Chinese cannot. Is it surprising that their thirst for 
revenge should smoulder in the ashes of Yuen Ming Yuen ? 

For some years England has been counting on China as an 
ally in the coming struggle with Russia. Hence the pains 



392 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

taken to conciliate her good-will : deference to her wishes in 
the matter of Sikkim and Tibet ; affronts borne with patience ; 
claims held in abeyance. But, so far as feelings are concerned, 
it might be easier to incite the Chinese to aid in driving the 
British out of India than to induce them to defend what they 
consider usurpation. 

The government is not much influenced by feehngs, but it 
is too timid to risk anything for either party, though the peo- 
ple, smothering their antipathies, would fight impartially for 
both — if paid for it. The alliance is at a discount since China 
has shown herself so shiftless in her contest with Japan. It is 
not likely that anything more will be heard of it, nor are signs 
wanting of a change in British policy. A law of normal expan- 
sion and the greed of her rivals compel England to swallow 
kingdoms, though she has no special appetite for them. Did 
she not take Burmah as an offset to Tonquin, without saying 
to China "by your leave" ? She did indeed ask an ex post 
facto consent, in the shape of a confirmatory treaty, which Sir 
N. O'Conor cleverly obtained by engaging that tribute mis- 
sions should continue qiiajid iiieme. To check an advance of 
Russia, did she not occupy Port Hamilton with quite as httle 
ceremony? And did she not afterward relinquish it, with quite 
as much ceremony as she had employed in confirming her title 
to Burmah ; by treaty, binding a drowsy-headed dragon to keep 
watch instead of herself ? In the recent crisis, when three 
other powers intervened on behalf of China, how much con- 
cern did Great Britain show for the integrity of Chinese terri- 
tory? So little does she care for that, that she is already pick- 
ing out the slices she intends to have — always the lion's share 
— though on the surface she hates to take any. It is a law of 
history, frequently quoted by Chinese writers, that ''the em- 
pire, after being long divided, will be reunited, and after long 
union it will be divided." When the time for disruption comes, 
happy will it be for China if the bulk of her people pass under 



CHINA AND HER NEIGHBORS 393 

the sway of Great Britain. Of the three nearest neighbors, 
Britain is the only one from whom they could learn self-gov- 
ernment. England's altered sentiment is voiced by such writ- 
ers as Norman and Curzon. The latter opens with the motto : 
" Til regere popiilos," etc., 

and closes wnth the significant words : " Great as is the present 
position of Great Britain, I beHeve it will be greater still. 

* Pray God our greatness may not fail 
Through craven fear of being great.' " 

Relations with France 

France is regarded by China with even more suspicion than 
England. Through her prominent part in the crusades, she 
made such an impression on the whole of Asia that Frank be- 
came synonymous with European. Through her missionaries, 
the earliest in the field, if we except two or three Italians, the 
Chinese were led to take her for what she really was, the lead- 
ing power of Christendom. She sank in their estimation when 
they saw her despoiled of her Indian possessions by the hand 
of England. During the half-century since the gates of the far 
East began to open her part has been conspicuously secondary. 

It was in the wake of England that France came to make 
her first treaty, and it was as the ally of England that she made 
her second. When, ten years ago, she made an attack on 
China, and gained nothing, the Chinese ascribed her failure to 
their own prowess, and to the fact that she was not supported 
by England. The true explanation, viz., that she was unsup- 
ported by France, and that, as Schiller has it, 

" Ntir Frankreich konnte Franhrich ubei'zoindeti,^'' * 

lay too deep for their apprehension. They acquired, never- 
theless, a wholesome dread of French valor, and abandoned 

* " Only France could overcome the French." 

Maid of Orleans. 



394 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

all idea of expelling France from her new dominions. They 
live, indeed, in perpetual dread of a renewal of the conflict on 
the part of France. Her position as eldest daughter of the 
church, and protectress of Catholic missions, may at any 
moment supply her with a pretext, while the Chinese brigand- 
age on the Tonquin frontier — amounting to guerilla warfare — 
may yield a more solid ground whenever such a war may serve 
her ends. In both characters, as champion of the church and 
touchy neighbor, her attitude is one of perpetual menace. 

The " wounded tiger," as Chunghau called her, has, they 
are well aware, long since recovered sufficiently to compel the 
three powers of central Europe to increase their land armies, 
and cause England to augment her enormous navy. " How 
can we sleep with ease," they are wont to say, " when nothing 
but a paper screen parts us from such a neighbor? " The his- 
tory of that paper screen, not to go further back, dates from 
1858. 

Having avenged their missionaries in China, the French pro- 
ceeded, in conjunction with the Spaniards, to make a descent 
on Annam for the purpose of avenging their martyrs in that 
kingdom. Humbling the pride of Gialung, they forced him 
to give up one of his richest provinces to pay for a thrashing. 
That province, with Saigon for its capital, was the gate to 
Cambodia, of which they were soon masters. Their ambition 
to possess an Eastern empire was now in full blaze. They 
started a hne of splendid steamers, which had to be heavily 
subsidized. Two things were noticeable, viz., that they were 
war-ships in disguise, and that they bore such names as 
"Dupleix" and " Labourdonnais," leaders in the struggle for 
India. 

The discovery by Dupuis that the Sonkoi, the Red River of 
the East, offers a practicable route to southwestern China, led 
naturally to the conquest of Tonquin. This was not effected 
without another war with Annam. In vain did the king, who 



CHINA AND HER NEIGHBORS 395 

had styled himself emperor as a sort of declaration of indepen- 
dence, pocket his pride, and implore aid of his insulted suze- 
rain. He was forced to cede the richest portion of his terri- 
tories, and accept France as overlord in lieu of China. China 
ratified the French conquests rather than risk the issue of a war, 
sacrificing her vassal and agreeing to withdraw her troops. 
All she had ever done in the way of succor was to garrison 
one or two strategic points near her own frontier. The com- 
manders of these fortresses being in no hurry to effect the 
evacuation, more than one bloody collision took place in 
the attempt of the French to eject them. The French taxed 
China with breach of faith, and demanded an indemnity of 
sixteen milHon dollars. Too much this was for even Chinese 
patience. The demand was rejected, and the French began 
hostihties by destroying a Chinese squadron, together with the 
navy-yard at Fuchau (August, 1885). The empress regent 
boldly declared war. " Rather than go to war with a friendly 
power," she said, " we chose to abandon one of our vassals ; 
but the French came upon us with outrageous demands, and, 
now that they have destroyed our ships, a state of war exists 
by their act. Confident in the righteousness of our cause, we 
accept the issue." She wept when signing this decree, but her 
tears were not those of weakness. 

Few pages of history are more honorable for China than 
that which records this second war with France. I was at the 
Hills when the rupture occurred. I had seen it coming, and 
been appealed to by the French charge to avert it by inducing 
the Chinese to accept his ultimatum. On the i8th of August, 
a letter from the Tsungli Yamen, sent by special messenger, 
requested me to return without delay on business of great 
urgency. At the Yamen I was told that the French had sunk 
the Fuchau fleet, and that, war having begun, the govern- 
ment desired to know the rules of international law as to the 
treatment of non-combatants belonging to the enemy. 



396 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

I was preparing an answer when an officer came to receive 
the paper, and pressed me to bring it to a close, as the coun- 
cil of state were waiting to draw up an imperial decree on the 
subject. The decree, which came out the next daj/, assured 
protection and immunity to all Frenchmen residing in China, 
on condition of remaining quietly in their places in pursuit of 
their peaceful avocations, and not in any way taking part in 
the conflict. Nobly did the Chinese government redeem its 
pledge. Not one of the hundreds of French missionaries scat- 
tered throughout the interior was killed, and none was molested, 
with the exception of a few in turbulent portions of the prov- 
ince of Canton, who removed for safety to the provincial 
capital. French merchants kept their shops open, and French 
professors continued to lecture in the Imperial College. 

I was requested to ask our professors to stay at home until 
the special question relating to them as employees of the gov- 
ernment should be decided by the council. Three days later 
one of the ministers informed me that they might resume their 
lectures, as the government knew them to be honorable men. 
He imposed no restriction on their movements beyond advis- 
ing that, for their own safety, they should not go far from the 
city. Is there a belligerent anywhere whose conduct surpasses 
this? Would not a Frenchman have reason to blush in com- 
paring it with the treatment meted out to Germans in the war 
of 1870? 

The French forces attempted to take Formosa, but failed. 
They also made an incursion from Tonquin, but were repulsed 
with heavy loss. The war from the first was unpopular in 
France, and purely defensive on the part of China. Both 
parties were accordingly brought by Sir Robert Hart, as else- 
where related, to make peace on the status quo ante bellum, the 
French not gaining a sou of indemnity, and the Chinese not 
losing an inch of territory. 

To China this negative result was equivalent to a victory. 



CHINA AND HER NEIGHBORS 397 

She was the stronger for it, and less disposed than ever to 
allow herself to be bullied by threats of war. 

Attitude of the European Powers 

Very significant is the action of France in backing up Rus- 
sia's demand for the evacuation of Liaotong by Japan. For 
that service she may get her pay in Europe or in Africa, but 
more likely in China, when it may suit her to ask for a slice 
of the southern provinces. Already, indeed, she has obtained 
important advantages in the expansion of Tonquin, and in con- 
cessions for railway communication. 

Before the close of the war it was supposed that England 
would be the first to object to Japan's getting a foothold on 
the mainland, and that in this she would have Russia for an 
ally. If in that matter she has yielded the principal part to 
others, not the less does she view their proceeding with secret 
satisfaction. To have Japan in a position to overawe the Chi- 
nese court would undermine her present influence, as well as 
mar her future prospects. That she has not translated her 
feehng into action, and that she has made no objection to the 
Japanese taking Formosa — though in the peace negotiations 
Viceroy Li declared she would— was obviously from fear of 
offending a future ally. 

Japan, and not China, is the natural ally of Great Britain. 
As neither is tempted to encroach on the other, there is noth- 
ing to hinder mutual confidence. Japan has not, as China has, 
suffered irreparable injuries at the hands of England ; and her 
formidable navy, joined to that of Great Britain, would make 
a force which Russia and France combined would be power- 
less to oppose. By Japan the alliance is ardently desired. 
For England to reject the outstretched hand would be worse 
than folly. 

In supporting Russia's demands, Germany, to the surprise 
of many (though no surprise to me), appears alongside of 



398 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

France. She wishes to estabhsh a claim to a share in the final 
partition. She laments her want of colonies, and makes fran- 
tic efforts to obtain them. Her acquisitions in Africa and 
Papua are, as yet, worth nothing. For her Formosa would 
have been priceless. She had a chance to take it before her 
war with France, the case of the " Soberana," plundered by 
Formosans, affording a good pretext ; but she was busy with 
reconstruction, and it is now too late. One of these days may 
she not indemnify herself by taking Chusan? — a measure to 
which, in the altered state of the China seas, England would 
have no good reason to object. 

The first instalment of her pay she has already received, in 
China's consent to her demand for territorial concessions like 
those of England and France at the open ports. Those con- 
cessions, though not ceasing to be Chinese territory, are prac- 
tically under a foreign flag. To Germany this little advantage 
is the nose of the camel. It is not for nothing that she has 
lent a hundred officers to reorganize the Chinese army. 

The cordon of great powers drawn round the Celestial Em- 
pire looks ominous, but may it not prove to be a protection? 
The jealousy of the powers has kept the Ottoman in Europe ; 
may it not keep the Tartar in China? There is, however, one 
ground on which they may unite, viz., as Christians, for the 
protection of Christians. On that ground they joined their 
forces to destroy the Ottoman fleet at Navarino in 1827, and 
Greece was freed from oppression. On that ground Russia 
made war in 1878, and the Berlin Conference created a free 
Bulgaria. In China that ground for interference is always 
present. As I write, fresh atrocities are reported, sufficient to 
provoke the vengeance of united Christendom. 

Money indemnities for outrages seem to aggravate the evil, 
and official promises are not to be trusted; the government 
will not punish its own mandarins. One expedient remains to 
be tried, viz., for each of the powers to take a small strip of 



CHINA AND HER NEIGHBORS 



399 



territory. Russia might take her strip in Manchuria, where it 
would serve for a roadway to an unfrozen sea; England hers 
between Kowloon (Hong Kong) and the Pearl River, enabling 
her to reach Canton by a railway of her own. The island of 
Hainan would fall naturally to France, Chusan to Germany. 
Stung to the quick by the loss of these first slices, China would 
be careful not to incur a repetition of the process, in the form 
of lingchi (" slicing to death by slow degrees "). Might not this 
prove to be the best guaranty for stability and renovation — 
adjourning indefinitely a crisis, in which provinces instead of 
districts would have to pay the forfeit? * 

* The final partition, if it must come, presents no such complicated 
problem as that of the Ottoman Empire. The northern belt of provinces 
would fall naturally to Russia ; the southern belt, excepting portions of 
Yunnan and Kwang-tung, as naturally to France. England would claim 
the valley of the Yang-tse ; and there would still be left the provinces of 
Chekiang and Fu-kien for Germany. The vigor with which China ap- 
pears to be entering on schemes of reform may, let us hope, lead to the 
indefinite postponement of any plan of partition. 




BUND MUSICIAN, BY PROFESSION A FORTUNE-TELLER. 



CHAPTER XII 

CHINA AND HER NEIGHBORS [Continued) 

Relations with Japan— Ancient hostility— Recent war— Japan's renova- 
tion — Her field for expansion — China's relations with the United 
States — American influence — American Trade 

Relations with Japan 

IN a sense different from any of the foregoing is Japan a 
neighbor to China. Their neighborhood came by con- 
quest, hers by birthright. Their seat of power is remote ; hers 
so near that each has been jealous of the other almost from the 
dawn of history. Situated relatively hke England and France, 
their collisions have been pretty nearly as frequent as those of 
their European analogues. As early as the third century B.C., 
the builder of the Great Wall, the Alexander of the East, after 
conquering .the last of the continental states within his reach, 
meditated the conquest of the Island Empire. The colonists 
whom he despatched, if they effected nothing more, certainly 
helped to bring the Tao-i ("insular barbarians") under the 
intellectual s>v^ay of China. 

Not to speak of other expeditions from the mainland, the 
Mongol, Kublai Khan, after conquering China, attempted, like 
Chenshi, the subjugation of Japan. As in the former case, 
none returned to tell the tale, though his armada is said to 
have carried a hundred thousand men. Japan retaliated by 
ravaging the seaboard. Protected by her briny belt, she sent 
out her squadrons, to drop on the coast of China, now here, 

400 



CHINA AND HER NEIGHBORS 401 

now there, as unexpected as an army of aeronauts descending 
from the clouds. She overran Corea ; but then, as now, China 
claimed the peninsula, and Japan was forced to retire after a 
sanguinary contest. Her corsairs continued to be a terror to 
the Chinese of the maritime provinces, until, oyster-Hke, she 
closed her shell and kept them at home. 

The oyster policy was ^opted, not against China, but as a 
protection against the encroachments of European nations. 
The wisdom of the expedient was questioned by some who, 
under a despotic government, did not dare to utter an open pro- 
test, but contrived to suggest their doubts in the form of fable. 

" Once upon a time," says a Japanese ^-Esop, " the fish of 
the sea were thrown into consternation by the appearance of 
a new enemy — a man with net and drag. Calling a council 
to provide for their safety, one proposed this, another that. 
The clam said that for himself he had no fear; he had only 
to close his shell to keep out all enemies. Splash! came the 
drag ; the fish scattered, and he lay snug until all was quiet. 
Then, cautiously peeping out, he saw scrawled on an opposite 
wall : ' This clam, two cents ' and he knew that he was soldy 

At the epoch of the opium war, the attitude of the two 
empires toward the outside world was identical From that 
point, or, to be exact, from 1854, the date of our first treaty 
with Japan, their policies diverge. Compelled to abandon 
her old exclusiveness, China has yielded as little as possible. 
Japan renounced hers without waiting for the application of 
force. China drags her anchors, and vainly endeavors to 
chng to her old ground, even at the risk of being dashed to 
pieces on a lee shore. Japan weighs anchor, and stands boldly 
out to sea. The immense advantage which an active striving 
for the better possesses over an inert adherence to tradition 
has never been made so conspicuous as in the issue of the late 
war— a war which has placed the victor among the great 
powers, and commenced the disintegration of the vanquished, 



40 2 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

Every step in Japan's progress has intensified the old ani- 
mosity. China hates her as a traitor to Asiatic traditions, 
and she despises China as a laggard in the race. The first 
aggressions came from the side of Japan, as might have been 
expected from her awakened energies. 

She began with the absorption of Liuchiu, which China 
regarded as her vassal, though the little kingdom, for its own 
pm"poses, had maintained a divided allegiance. Her next 
move was a descent on Formosa, ostensibly to punish the 
savages of the eastern coast for murdering the crew of a 
Liuchiuan junk; in reality with the intention of occupying 
a part, if not the whole, of that island. Their right to do so 
the Japanese defended by specious arguments drawn from 
text- writers on international law. These batteries the Chinese 
easily silenced, as I can testify, having had something to do 
with the loading of their guns. The contest would not have 
ended without drawing blood if the British minister. Sir Thomas 
Wade, had not come forward as peacemaker, and persuaded 
the invaders to withdraw on the payment of a small indemnity, 
which, to save the " face " of China, was considered as com- 
pensation for war material left on the island. 

A third storm center was Corea. Confessedly a vassal of 
China, the Hermit Kingdom^ had been unwisely permitted to 
send embassies and enter into direct treaty relations with for- 
eign courts, making the Corean capital a nest of intrigue. 

In 1878 the destruction of the Japanese consulate at Seoul 
came very near embroiling the two empires. In the dispute 
which followed, the Japanese won a diplomatic victory ; China 
weakly consented to something like a dual control, which 
naturally had the effect of making the peninsula more than 
ever a bone of contention. For these two blunders, the seeds 
of the recent war, Li Hung Chang is directly responsible, the 
affairs of Corea being his special charge. 

A petty rebellion breaking out early in 1894, the king ap- 



CHINA AND HER NEIGHBORS 403 

pealed to China, not to Japan, for succor. The insurgents, 
who called themselves TiingJiak (" champions of Eastern 
learning"), in opposition to Western innovations, dispersed on 
the appearance of Chinese troops, and the troops intrenched 
themselves on the sea-coast. The Japanese were notified, and 
exercised their right of sending a force ; but instead of camp- 
ing on the coast, they pushed on to the capital for the better 
protection of king and court. It was the story of Tunis over 
again, where a French general, failing to find the Krouinirs, 
whom he had come to fight, suddenly appeared at the Bardo, 
and forced the Bey to sign a treaty which made him inde- 
pendent of Turkey. China was not as apathetic as the Otto- 
man, and both parties, perceiving the real issue, pushed 
forward their troops as fast as their ships could carry them. 
Their ostensible object was to annihilate the Tunghaks, their 
real aim to settle at once and forever the question of Chinese 
supremacy. They kept up the forms of friendship until the 
25th of July, when two collisions in one day compelled them 
to throw off the mask. Then came the shock of war, as un- 
foreseen as an earthquake, and infinitely more destructive.* 

In the earher battles the Chinese fought well, but they soon 
came to expect defeat as a matter of course, a constant suc- 

* I was then in Japan in quest of health. Being asked by an English 
missionary what I thought would be the issue of the war, I said I thought 
it would end in a drawn battle, or be stopped by the intervention of the 
Powers ; " but," I added, " if pushed to an extreme the swordfish can kill 
the whale." " You had better not say that too loud," he remarked, "unless 
you wish to have it published in all the newspapers in Japan." Many 
times I have visited the Island Empire. I first saw it under the Tycoons 
in 1859, when the Mikado was as powerless as the " prisoner of the Vati- 
can " ; I saw it again on the eve of the restoration ; and I have seen it 
since often enough to become well acquainted with its people and some 
of its leading statesmen. My observations on the course of a revolution 
the most remarkable that any people has undergone in modern times, I 
am compelled to withhold for want of space, 



404 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

cession of victories telling as much for the organizing talent 
of Japan at headquarters as for the courage and disciphne of 
her forces in the field. In possession of king and capital, the 
Japanese enjoyed a great advantage. The poor king, as help- 
less as Montezuma, bound himself by treaty to furnish supphes 
for their troops until the independence of Corea should be 
secured, and allowed himself to be persuaded into insulting 
his liege lord by assuming the title of emperor. How great 
their advantage will not be apparent unless we suppose the situ- 
ation reversed. With a Chinese army in Seoul commanding 
the resources of the kingdom, who can say that the issue of 
the conflict might not have been otherwise? In that first bold 
stroke the palm of strategy belongs to Japan. 

An incidental advantage, not to be overlooked, was the 
glamour of chivalry which it gave her as the defender of the 
oppressed, enabling her to inscribe on her banners a noble 
object. Whatever arriere pensee she may have indulged, polit- 
ically this was shrewd, but knight-errantry of that sort is out of 
date. Japan's action in taking the initiative is to be justified, 
if at all, on the ground that the disguised hostility of the Chi- 
nese made war inevitable sooner or later, and it was wise for 
her to strike when she was ready. Before spring the Chinese 
had been driven out of Corea, and the Manchurian seaboard 
occupied by the Japanese. The two great naval fortresses 
had fallen into their hands, and the Chinese navy was annihi- 
lated. To save her capital China sued for peace, and Japan 
stood revealed as a power no longer to be disregarded by the 
cabinets of Europe. 

Her successes were not rapid, but they followed in unbroken 
series Avith the precision of science. More astonishing still, in 
her armies every expedient devised to mitigate the horrors of 
war was to be found in active operation. Supplies were paid 
for, few acts of violence were heard of off the field of battle, 
and the wounded enemy shared with the Japanese in the 



CHINA AND HER NEIGHBORS 405 

benefits of a well-conducted Red Cross organization. Of a 
thousand Chinese prisoners recently sent home by Japan, " all 
were in good health and spirits. Many had been wounded in 
action, and some, having lost arms or legs, had cork substi- 
tutes." * When and where in our Civil War were prisoners 
provided with "cork legs"? By all this — as much in con- 
trast with their old custom of cutting off ears for trophies as 
with the heartless speech of a Chinese taotai, that " China did 
not wish her wounded to be saved" — the Japanese have earned 
for themselves a high place in the scale of civilization. f 

It is said, by way of apology for the mobs and massacres so 
frequent in China, that such things occur in other countries. 
Let it be noted, however, that they do not occur in Japan. 
Almost from the date of her new departure, she favored Chris- 
tian missions as an educational agency, though without a line 
of stipulation on the subject ; and of late she has gone so far 
as to guarantee religious liberty by an article in her new con- 
stitution. China, in spite of line upon hne and pledge upon 
pledge, is more and more showing herself in the character of 
a pagan persecutor. The consequences are not difficult to 
foresee. 

As to the future of Japan, that may be regarded as assured, 
provided she avoids a conflict with Russia. Her evacuation 
of Liaotong, though unpleasant, was good policy. The pos- 
session of a single post on the continent would expose her to 
dangerous comphcations, like those which beset England as 
long as she held on to portions of France. To her, as to 
England, the sea offers a safer arena for ambition. Formosa 
is a magnificent prize, sufficient to engross her colonizing 

* " North China Herald," August 30, 1895. 

t The brutal vengeance taken at Port Arthur, and more recently the 
murder of the Corean queen, with the connivance if not instigation of a 
Japanese minister, are (to vary the figure) heavy weights in the opposing 
scale. 



40 6 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

efforts for a quarter of a century. Other prizes lie within 
reach. The grandest that looms up in the future is the island 
of Borneo. The largest that rests on the bosom of the deep — 
a world in itself — it is enough to sate the wildest wishes for 
expansion. Not to be obtained by force, it might be easily 
acquired by diplomacy. The North Borneo Company, which 
has barely begun to declare small dividends, would no doubt 
be glad to sell out for such an amount of cash as Japan's war 
indemnity would enable her to offer. The same may be said 
of Rajah Brooke ; and the Sultan of Brunei would follow of 
course. Nor would the British government make objection, 
if the immediate proprietors were satisfied. Holland might 
be reckoned with later. Imagination revels in the spectacle 
which that glorious island, almost as large as France and 
Germany combined, might present half a century hence, in 
the hands of a people who to the civilization of Europe add a 
physique capable of thriving in a tropical climate. 

Relatiojis ivith the United States 

America is neighbor to China only in the sense in which 
the Samaritan was neighbor to him who fell among thieves : 
others may wound or rob, we do neither. Not that we are 
better, but the remoteness of our situation, the form of our 
government, and the ampleness of our domain are such as 
to keep us out of temptation. This apphes equally to our 
relations with Japan. Both nations are aware of it. Hence, 
on the outbreak of war, each requested the United States to 
care for its subjects within the bounds of the other, while to 
the United States both had recourse to initiate negotiations 
for peace. In our treaty with China, as elsewhere men- 
tioned, the exercise of such good offices is expressly provided 
for. 

A country so remote as to exclude the suspicion of a design 
on Chinese territory, so separated from other great powers as 



CHINA AND HER NEIGHBORS 407 

to be free from entanglements, withal sufficiently powerful and 
sufficiently enlightened to command respect, was found to 
fulfil all the conditions for friendly mediation. More than 
once have our ministers exerted their influence to preserve 
peace. In this instance they have laid the whole world— not 
merely those two nations— under obligations by their efforts to 
restore peace. In this crisis our country was happy in being 
represented at the two courts by men of high character and 
long experience. Of Mr. Dun I am unable to say more for 
want of personal acquaintance, but of Colonel Denby I can 
add that his clearness of perception and honesty of purpose 
are such as would adorn the supreme bench. Beyond all 
precedent, surviving the defeat of his party, he has served 
three presidential terms. Who shall say that his presence in 
China in her hour of need was not ordered by more than 
human foresight ? 

Without exception, our representatives at Peking have been 
men of ability. With BurHngame to head the procession ; 
Brown, a clever engineer ; Low, a " level-headed " governor ; 
Avery, a man of letters (all three from California) ; then Sew- 
ard, who, from natural gifts improved by consular experience, 
deserves to be called the " son of his uncle " ; Angell, president 
of a university ; Young, a leading journahst of the East ; and 
last, not least, Denby, with his third term — and we have an 
array of talent unsurpassed by the representation of any other 
country. In the selection of our future envoys care should 
be taken not to introduce any feeble hnk into this succession 
of strong men ; and when any man has proved by success his 
exceptional fitness, he should be kept at his post as long as he 
is willing to remain. 

Peking has risen in the scale of importance to rival Con- 
stantinople as a focus of intrigue. In addition to the astute- 
ness of Oriental diplomacy, our ministers encounter there the 
sharpest wits of Europe. Unlike the envoys of China's nearer 



4o8 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

neighbors, they have no fixed pohcy to maintain, unless it be 
that of watching over the rights of our citizens, merchant or 
missionary, and taking care that no unfair advantage is 
accorded to the people of other nations. What this rivalry 
means will be made plain by an instance : Some years ago an 
American syndicate made its appearance, with a formidable 
backing of capital, aiming at something like a commercial 
conquest. It was represented by a versatile Polish count, 
who, by resorting to Oriental methods, which come natural to 
Russians, carried the outworks with the greatest ease. The 
viceroy Li, who had the initiative in such matters, was per- 
suaded to agree to a loan of fifty million dollars, to be em- 
ployed in the establishment of a national system of banks and 
mints, there not being at that time a mint in the empire except 
for copper coin. He was to permit them, in return, to con- 
struct and run railways, to be handed over, after a term of 
years, free of cost. A preliminary contract was signed, and it 
looked as if China was emerging from the age of brass to 
have the ages of iron and of silver all at once. But the terms 
required to be sanctioned at Peking. It failed there, and the 
world imputed its failure to the incompetence of the agent. 
Never was imputation more unjust. The true explanation 
was the alarm awakened among European diplomats by that 
startling outbreak of American enterprise. 

" Do you know why the count's scheme failed so sig- 
nally? " said one of them to me, in an after-dinner tete-a-tete. 
The German minister (Doyen of the corps) came to me and 
the other ministers, and, holding up a copy of the contract, 
exclaimed, " There, gentlemen, see what the Americans have 
got. If we allow this thing to go on the Yankees will sweep 
the board. Then we may as well put our commissions in our 
pockets and quit the field. Nothing would do but we must 
go with him to the Yamen to enter protest. And so that 
brilhant enterprise was killed." 



CHINA AND HER NEIGHBORS 409 

Whether the United States minister could have done any- 
thing to defeat this counterplot, if he had known it, is doubtful. 
But it is highly probable that the opposition would not have 
had time to organize if the agent had observed due secrecy, 
or if, instead of tarrying at Tientsin, he had pushed on to 
Peking and taken the United States minister into his confi- 
dence, even without buying up a prince or two. The United 
States might then have had a bonanza, instead of seeing all 
the good things turned over to other neighbors. 

In closing, I wish to point out two popular errors. First, 
it is a mistake to suppose that American influence, which I 
take to mean state prestige, is at a discount. Like most things 
that possess value, it has had its fluctuations. In the palmy 
days of Burhngame it was at a premium, not altogether on 
his account, but more, perhaps, because that was the begin- 
ning of a new order of things, in which friendly advice was 
not unwelcome, especially when asked for. It declined in the 
long agony preceding the treaty of 1894, during which Chi- 
nese immigration, once so ardently wooed, was contemptuously 
spurned. Our government had made its solemn obligations a 
foot-ball (let the aptness of the metaphor excuse its triteness), 
to be kicked by both parties in each political contest. What 
but loss of prestige could it expect from its own tergiversation, 
even if its ministers had all been Burlingames? 

The subject of Chinese immigration I shall not discuss here 
or anywhere. Yet I cannot help thinking that we should 
have had a less humihating record had our government seen 
fit to limit the influx by adopting the measures proposed by 
Mr. Seward for weeding out objectionable classes. But ex- 
tinction, not limitation, was what was aimed at, and on that 
issue he was sacrificed. The case of M. Bouree offers a par- 
allel, who, for proposing terms of accommodation, by which 
French interests and Chinese susceptibilities in Tonquin were 
cleverly harmonized, was promptly recalled because absorp- 



4IO A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

tion, not partnership, was the end in view. That most irri- 
tating question settled, the influence of the United States has 
been rising, and the action of our minister in initiating peace 
negotiations brought it up to par. 

Second, it is a mistake to suppose that American trade is 
on the decHne. With changing conditions, the great houses 
have gone down, one after another. An American steamer 
is rarely seen in a Chinese port (Hong Kong is not China). 
Not long ago the commissioner of customs reported that for 
a whole month not a single vessel bearing the American flag 
had been entered at Shanghai. Yet, for all diat, our trade 
grows,* finding its way to and fro chiefly in English and Jap- 
anese bottoms. Nor is it possible for legislative blundering to 
do much to check it. With the growing wealth of our Pacific 
coast, its future expansion challenges fancy to assign a limit. 

It was Cathay (whose wealth had been portrayed by Marco 
Polo), not Zipangu (Japan), that fired the imagination of Co- 
lumbus, turned his prow to the west, and led to the discovery 
of America. It was China that in large measure prompted 
the building of our first transcontinental railway, and the 
China trade has had a share in building three others. That 
trade already forms the chief support for four lines of steam- 
ers, with every prospect of expanding until the Pacific shall be 
furrowed by as many keels as now plow the Atlantic. For 
this no new condition is required but that of progressive 
improvement in the tastes and habits of the Chinese people. 
Who shall affirm that America's interest in China, present or 
potential, is wholly of the sentimental sort ? or that the 
sentimental may not promote the material? 

* The" declared exports from Tientsin to the United States " for the 
last three years were as follows: 1893, 940,871 taels ; 1894, 1,751,800 
taels; 1895, 1,818,881 taels = $2,425,000 (Mexican), an expansion of 
nearly one hundred per cent. 



CHAPTER XIII 

SIR ROBERT HART AND THE CUSTOiMS SERVICE 

His influence not confined to the customs — How he made peace with 
France — How he has pioneered improvements in China — The service 
international in membership — Its high character — Its influence not 
ephemeral — Originating in an accident, integrity has made it perma- 
nent — Sir Robert declines to be British minister — He wears the 
honors of many nations — His liter, ry tastes — A reminiscence of 
Dr. McCosh 

WHAT Li Hung Chang is among native servants of the 
Chinese government, that is Sir Robert Hart among its 
foreign employees. Rare in personal qualities and exceptional 
in opportunity, he looms up hke the Tungcho pagoda, which, 
rising from a level plain, becomes a part of the landscape, and 
attracts the eyes of all who turn their faces toward Peking. 
If he has not, like the statesmen of British India, extended the 
boundaries of his own country, he has done more than any 
other man to avert the destruction of another empire. Much 
as he has accompHshed, however, he is far from sanguine as to 
the ultimate result. " I am afraid we are tinkering a cracked 
kettle." he said to me, some months before the war wnth Japan 
had come to expose the rottenness of China to all the world. 
For over thirty years Sir Robert has ruled with autocratic 
sway a branch of the revenue service which employs nearly 
eight hundred Europeans and five times that number of Chi- 
nese, and controls a commerce amounting to three hundred 
miUion taels per annum. Not confining himself to his fiscal 

411 



412 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

duties, the government has found in him a confidential ad- 
viser in every crisis of its foreign relations. Not to speak of 
smoothing the way for treaties and promoting friendly inter- 
course with other nations, to him belongs the honor of staving 




SIR ROBERT HART, BARONKT. 

off a war with Great Britain in 1876, and of making peace 
with France nine years later. His action in the former case 
is reserved for another page ; the latter may be referred to 
here as illustrating more than one phase of his character, as 
well as the unique influence of his position. 

When the French were in Formosa, they seized the " Feihu," 
a small steamer employed by the customs as a revenue-cutter. 
Applying in vain to Admiral Courbet for the release of the 
vessel, Sir Robert appealed to Paris, sending Mr. Campbell, 



SIR ROBERT HART AND THE CUSTOMS 413 

his London agent, to lay the case before M. Jules Ferry, the 
French premier. M. Ferry ordered the vessel to be returned, 
on the ground that it was in no way concerned in hostilities, 
but actually engaged in conveying supplies to lighthouses, a 
humane service in which all nations were interested. Thank- 
ing M. Ferry for his generosity. Sir Robert instructed his agent 
to sound him as to his willingness to enter into negotiations 
looking to peace. The unpopular war was an albatross on the 
neck of the premier, and he was glad to have the knot untied 
by a friendly hand. Sir Robert got himself empowered to speak 
for the Chinese government, and, entering into direct tele- 
graphic communication with M. Ferry, succeeded, after a tedi- 
ous and expensive correspondence (every word costing two 
dollars), in obtaining for China "peace with honor." 

Nor has the impress of Sir Robert Hart's activity been less 
deep, if less conspicuous, on the internal condition of China, 
for every step in the direction of modern improvements has 
not merely been urged or recommended by him at the time, 
but, in most cases, mapped out with prophetic foresight long 
years in advance. The general chart of sailing directions, in 
which they are laid down, bears the title Pang Kuan Ltm, a 
little book in two volumes, more than once reprinted by the 
government for distribution among its officers. The first volume 
dates back as far as the year 1866, when, facing the uncertain- 
ties of a voyage home, he desired to leave with his employers 
a few pages of serious advice. If, after speaking of his public 
character, I seem to intrude on the sanctities of private life, 
my apology must be that he has been much written about by 
those who have not enjoyed the privileges of a " friendship of 
forty years." 

The customs service, of which Sir Robert is the official head, 
is unhke anything that bears that name in Western lands. Yet 
it is not Chinese, either in method or in personnel. For, while 
in other countries customs dues are, as a rule, collected by their 



414 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

own subjects, in this service the official corps consists entirely 
of foreigners, with Chinese assistants under their direction — an 
arrangement the reverse of what would be expected, but one 
for which a reason will appear in the sequel. The foreign 
appointments are not monopolized by any nationality, but 
represent, in fact, a sort of international corporation, the mem- 
bers of which are chosen by the inspector-general with a view 
to securing for the service the good-will of the various nations 
interested in Chinese commerce. The number of appointees 
assigned to each is, however, in proportion rather to their in- 
fluence than to the amount of their trade. On both grounds 
the lion's share properly falls to Great Britain, but in point of 
fact her representation is less than her due ; otherwise no room 
would be left for other nations — her trade amounting to no 
less than eighty per cent, of the sum total. 

If it be asked why the French, whose trade is so insignifi- 
cant, should be so largely represented, they having three out 
of the thirty commissioners, they would answer that they are 
far from getting as much as they deserve. Having borne a 
leading part in the opening of the oyster, they feel entitled to 
share largely in all the good things resulting from that opera- 
tion. That feehng is exhibited in the fact that while, at the 
open ports, other nationahties have been content to live in the 
British concessions, the French have everywhere demanded 
and obtained a district for themselves, to which they do not 
restrict their residence, though they do exploit the lands for 
their own pecuniary advantage, and govern it pretty much as 
if it were French territory.* 

* By way of illustration. They seized the water-front belonging to a 
mission in Shanghai and erected on it a police station, refusing to pay for 
the ground until diplomatic pressure was brought to bear. During a so- 
journ in the same city, we were annoyed one day by the failure of the 
cook to return from market in time to get our noonday meal. Passing 

through the French concession in the afternoon, the poor fellow bailed me 



SIR ROBERT HART AND THE CUSTOMS 415 

In amount of trade Japan stands high in the scale, but on 
the service Hst her officials are conspicuous by their absence. 
If explanation be sought for this anomaly, it is found partly 
in the suspicion and contempt with which the Chinese have 
hitherto regarded their insular neighbors. They are not ready 
to concede to them that superiority in moral quaHties which 
they tacitly admit in men of the West. 

Though the " I. G." (as he is called) accepts nominations 
from foreign ministers, he allows no dictation or interference, 
reserving to himself the prerogative of taking or rejecting can- 
didates, by w^homsoever they may be recommended. The in- 
dependence of the service is thus protected, and the high char- 
acter of its membership secured. High pay (high prior to the 
fall in silver), immunity from direct control by Chinese officials, 
and especially the prospect of lifelong employment, undisturbed 
by the fluctuations of party pohtics, have concurred to make 
it much sought for. The I. G. has on hand hundreds of ap- 
plications years in advance. Among those now or formerly 
on the list may be counted several sons of diplomatic ministers 
(British, American, Dutch, Italian, etc.), and a number of sons 
of missionaries, who, born in the country, have the advantage 
of knowing the Chinese language. " I take a pleasure," says 
the I. G., " in favoring the sons of missionaries." 

For the indoor staff it is well understood that none but col- 
lege graduates, or those who have had an exceptionally good 
education, need apply. For the outdoor service special qual- 
ifications are required in addition to testimonials of good 
character. It is the indoor staff that gives character to the 
entire force, and by careful selection the I. G. has made it 
preeminently a service of gentlemen— unsurpassed by any 

and begged me to save him. Along with many other unlucky natives he 
had been pressed into a coolie gang and compelled to work all day at the 
scene of a recent fire. I told him to follow me ; and the police, seeing that 
he was claimed by a foreigner, made no objection, 



4i6 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

similar organization in the world. Entering as fourth assistant, 
B, with one hundred dollars (silver) per mensem, the new official 
gradually moves up until, after a lapse of fifteen or twenty 
years, he finds himself in charge of a port as deputy commis- 
sioner, or it may be full commissioner, with a salary of eight 
or ten times that amount. 

A pecuHar feature of the Chinese customs, to some an at- 
traction, to others a drawback, is that no man is permanently 
attached to any seaport ; nor is there a fixed term of tenure for 
any post. A principle of mobility, borrowed from the civil 
service of China, keeps them in constant circulation among 
twenty-four ports, scattered over an area of two thousand miles 
from north to south, and fifteen hundred from east to west. 
Its object is to counteract a tendency to local entanglements, 
and to give to all an equal chance of serving in places which, 
for health or other reasons, are regarded as desirable. Every 
man must hold himself in readiness for transfer from the day 
of arrival at a new post, though he may be left there for three, 
or even five, years. Of his next destination he cannot have 
the faintest inkhng, as there is no order of sequence known 
to any one— perhaps not even to the autocratic head of the 
service. 

So systematic is this want of system, and so arbitrary the 
permutations, that some wag has invented a pretty fiction to 
account for them. The I. G., he affirms, keeps a board hang- 
ing in his office, on which the place of every man is marked 
by a peg, names and places alike being in cipher. The office 
boy, in taking down his master's hat or coat, brings down by 
accident a shower of those mysterious pegs, and, knowing 
nothing of their cabalistic markings, puts them up at random. 

Time and again has an old commissioner, with a bank bal- 
ance sufficient to beget a spirit of independence, elected to 
quit the service rather than take up a disagreeable post. This 
has happened often enough to suggest that the I, G. knows 



SIR ROBERT HART AND THE CUSTOMS 417 

how to get a resignation without asking for it. So frequently, 
too, have Shanghai and Chefoo fallen to some member of the 
I. G.'s family circle as to create a belief in a special provi- 
dence watching over them. To ladies in connection with the 
service the I. G. is always kind and considerate : married com- 
missioners are not appointed to stations that are noted for 
being malarious or solitary ; while a young man who is gifted 
with some social accomplishment, or lucky enough to have an 
accomplished wife, is sure of being ordered to Peking. The 
I. G. has thus surrounded himself with a constellation of beauty 
and musical talent which eclipses any of the ten legations. 
His house is a rallying-point for the whole foreign community. 
He keeps a band of music under a foreign maestro, and gives 
garden-parties once a week, and dinners, followed by dancing, 
at least as often. 

The only stationary man in the service, if we except Mr. 
Detring, who has been retained at Tientsin as aid and counsel 
to the viceroy, is the I. G. himself. So important has it become 
for him to be within reach of the Tsungli Yamen that for the 
last nine years he has not passed the gates of Peking, though 
it was formerly his wont to make tours of inspection among 
the open ports. To the Yamen he is responsible, and submits 
full reports ; yet such is the confidence with which he is regarded 
by that august body that his authority within his own domain 
is never opposed, nor are any of his acts subjected to revision. 
Such influence is the slow growth of years. His position was, 
in fact, for a long time regarded as precarious. The American 
minister, Mr. Low, once predicted, from what he had been 
told at the Yamen, that ** Hart would lose his place in three 
months," with a " you bet " appended, which, I suppose, meant 
that he was ready to back his prophecy by a wager. Without 
betting, I assured him that " Hart was stronger than he had 
ever been." This was over twenty years ago! In talking 
with Mr. Low, the Chinese ministers had found it convenient 



41 8 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

to throw on their foreign agent the blame of certain things of 
which he had occasion to complain ; but with me they had no 
reason for disguise or subterfuge. 

Power like his is not transmissible along with an official seal, 
and in this sense he can have no successor. It is true he has 
sometimes thought of resigning. Once, when I was represent- 
ing to him the importance of his remaining in office for the 
well-being, or even the existence, of the customs service, he 
took from my hand a folding fan, and, laying his finger on the 
rivet, remarked, " So, it seems, my position is there." Speak- 
ing of the college, which had at that time the aspect of a sickly 
infant, I expressed the opinion that it would outlive the customs 
inspectorate. " The college," I said, " will be a permanent 
institution, but the life of the customs can hardly exceed fifteen 
years." " I give it twenty-five," he replied, admitting that it 
possesses the character of a temporary makeshift. It is grat- 
ifying to be able to add that the limit assigned by me has been 
passed long since, and that the customs inspectorate appears 
to be more vigorous than ever. So well satisfied is the govern- 
ment with its operation that it has made no provision for any- 
thing to take its place ; and the foreign loans required by the 
Japanese war indemnity, being based on the customs receipts, 
form a new pledge of stability. Yet nothing is more certain 
than that the retirement of its present head would be the sig- 
nal for serious modifications, and that eventually the roles of 
the foreign members and of their Chinese assistants must be 
reversed. 

By no means does the prospect of such a transformation— 
not yet in sight— argue that the " influence of the customs 
service is ephemeral " ; rather, the reverse. It implies a pre- 
paratory education, and, while Sir Robert has manifested no 
great impatience to have native officials fit themselves to step 
into the shoes of his foreign subordinates, he has been holding 
up before the eyes of the whole Eastern world an object-lesson 



S/A' ROBERT HART AND THE CUSTOMS 419 

that shines Hke a lighthouse. The hghthouses, with which he 
has plentifully provided a long and dangerous coast, are, in 
fact, the best emblem of a service which has had the effect 
of exposing quicksands of corruption and breakers of bad 
legislation. 

The pilots of the ship of state are proverbially slow to steer 
by borrowed light, but in the end they do steer by it. Many 
years ago Sir Robert informed the cabinet ministers in Peking 
that twenty-eight thousand chests of opium were annually 
smuggled into Canton from the port of Hong Kong, and he 
proposed to stop the rat-holes. 

" Will that affect the income of the provincial officers? " they 
inquired. 

" Certainly," he answered. 

" Then," said they, ''you had better not touch it." 

At that time he had no right to touch it ; but he has now, 
and scarcely a chest slips through, in spite of the loss to high 
officials. Last summer he proposed to reform the entire rev- 
enue service, as he has his own branch of it. The same ques- 
tions were put, and the same answers given as before. " No," 
said the cabinet ministers, " not yet ; the hour is inauspicious— 
in the wake of a war— and the people in a restless mood. The 
provincial officials would never stand it. No, it can't be done." 

But it can be done, and in a few years it will be done, if 
China is to hold together. In all such reforms the customs 
leaven will continue to work at points invisible to foreign eyes. 

Though to Sir Robert Hart belongs the honor of having 
nursed the customs service into greatness, he is not its father. 
It was brought into existence by a fortuitous concourse of 
events without paternity. It was (save the mark!) the child 
of a rebellion. The city of Shanghai having been taken, in 
18535 by a horde of rebels, called "redheads," independent 
of those at Nanking, foreign merchants refused to pay duties 
either to the government or to the insurgents. From the one 



420 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

party, the duties were withheld because they had lost control 
of the citadel ; from the other, because they had not made them- 
selves masters of the forts at the mouth of the river. The 
government protested, and emphasized its protest by investing 
the city, and assuring the merchants that its reduction was only 
a question of time. As a compromise, it was agreed that the 
merchants should give bonds, to be redeemed w^hen the im- 
perial authority should be reestablished. Some one suggested 
that a responsible collector should, in the meantime, be ap- 
pointed by each of the principal nations interested, viz., Eng- 
land, France, and the United States. The appointee for England 
was Mr. (Sir Thomas) Wade. When accounts came to be 
setded, it was discovered that this arrangement had yielded a 
larger revenue than the native taotais had been in the habit of 
reporting. Their method is to make a low estimate of the prob- 
able intake, and pledge themselves to make good any deficit. 
Any excess they always pocket if they can. It was accordingly 
decided that a system which had worked so well as an experi- 
ment should assume a character of permanence and be ex- 
tended to other ports. To give it unity, Mr. H. N. Lay was, 
by the advice of Mr. Wade, appointed inspector-general — an 
ofiice which he continued to hold until 1863, notwithstanding 
a war with England, which lasted three years. The taotai 
of Shanghai expressed his astonishment that he had not been 
able to detect Mr. Lay in a single act of peculation, though 
he had many a time laid a trap for him. For instance, \vhen 
two ships arrived together he hinted to Lay to appropriate 
the duties of one and give him those of the other. Other 
taotais have had the same experience, and to most of them 
the integrity of the commissioners is so far from agreeable that 
they are all hostile to the system, " All the taotais are dead 
against us," said Sir Robert. Is not their hostility his best 
indorsement? 

During the thirty-two years that have passed since that date, 



S/J^ kOiSERT HART AND THE CUSTOMS \2\ 

the only incumbent of the post has been Sir Robert Hart. 
The man has exalted the position, and given it additional luster 
by declining in its favor the appointment of British minister. 
It now ranks in dignity with the ministries of the native 
government, and with the legations of foreign powers. " I 
shall still have to go out to dinner at the tail of the diplomatic 
corps," he said to me, when he made up his mind to remain 
in the service of China. 

While his long and successful administration of a branch of 
the revenue gives him the status of a minister of finance, a few 
instances (some of which have been mentioned in the chapter 
on diplomatic missions) will show how really he has acted as 
minister of foreign affairs. 

1. The tentative mission of Pinchun, in 1866, prehminary 
to the appointment of ministers to foreign countries, originated 
with him. 

2. When, in 1867, the idea of sending Mr. Burhngame to 
the United States and Europe as envoy for China had come 
up by accident, it was he who cHnched the matter and made 
it an accomphshed fact. 

3. When, in 1876, after the murder of Margary, Sir Thomas 
Wade had taken down his flag and left the capital, it was he 
who procured the appointment of Li Hung Chang to follow 
him to Chefoo and negotiate a convention, by which war was 
averted. 

4. In 1885, when the war with France had gone on for 
nearly a year, and both parties wished for peace, it was he who 
stepped in and arranged the terms. 

5. It was he who induced the Chinese government to rec- 
ognize the Portuguese sovereignty over Macao. 

6. It was he who brought about the collection at the open 
ports of the duties on opium, in accordance with a stipulation 
in the Chefoo convention, which had been held in abeyance 
by the British government. 



42 2 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

Sir Robert's success in arranging the peace with France led 
Lord Granville to fix on him for successor to Sir Harry 
Parkes * — an offer renewed by Lord Sahsbury, and kept open 
for five months pending the settlement of certain matters which 
Sir Robert had in hand for the Chinese government. Returning 
from my summer vacation at the Hills on August 25, 1885, 
I met Sir Robert coming from my door. He turned back with 
me, saying that he desired to consult me about an affair of 
great interest to him, but that he would not pledge himself to 
follow the advice I might give. The question was whether 
he should accept or decline the post of British minister. I 
advised him to decline it, on the following grounds : 

1. That the office he then held was one of much greater 
influence ; that, if he accepted, he would leave unfinished a 
work which might be compared to the founding of a state ; and 
that without him the customs service would fall to pieces. 

2. That he would find it impossible, in case of acceptance, 

* Sir Harry Parkes's career in its main lines offers a parallel to those of 
Sir Robert Hart and Sir Thomas Wade, beginning as a humble student of 
Chinese, and culminating in the honors of a plenipotentiary — implying high 
qualities and hard work. The web of his destiny was, however, interwoven 
with a peculiar tissue of romantic incident. Originator of a successful war, 
he had the good luck to be captured by the enemy, and came eventually, by a 
kind of poetic justice, to occupy a princely mansion, as the Queen's repre- 
sentative, within a few rods of the cell in which he had languished as a pris- 
oner. In the meantime he had been rewarded for services and sufferings by 
the ministership in Japan, where he was the first foreign envoy to welcome 
the mikado to his eastern capital, and where he earned the gratitude of 
the Japanese by the sympathy and aid which he offered them in their 
schemes of reform. But sincere as was his friendship, he was not always 
careful to disguise a distasteful lesson by a sugar-coating of diplomatic 
forms. For instance, if we may credit a current rumor, when the Japa- 
nese once hinted at armed resistance to some demand, " Great Britain 
could crush Japan like that," he replied, smashing an egg-shell tea-cup 
by way of illustration. 

To the Chinese the name of Pashali (" Parkes Harry ") stood for some- 



SIR ROBERT BART AND THE CUSTOMS 423 

to give satisfaction to either party : the Chinese would be cer- 
tain, if he opposed them, to tax him with ingratitude, and 
British merchants would always suspect him of leaning to the 
side of the country he had served so long. 

In the afternoon he telegraphed to Lord Salisbury, declin- 
ing the honor, and Prince Ching thanked him for deciding in 
favor of China. 

Having been so long in a position to further the interests of 
various countries, it is not surprising that Sir Robert should 
wear the decorations of nearly all the courts of Europe. But 
no honors afford him as much satisfaction as those conferred 
by the government he has served and his mother-country. 
From China he has received the insignia of a mandarin of 
the first grade, and, in addition thereto, a rare distinction, which 
in China is very substantial, though a little shadowy in the 
West, viz., the ennobling by imperial decree of his ancestors 
for three generations. Some of his friends amused themselves 
with imagining how a sturdy old miller would be startled to 
find himself a Chinese noble, and Sir Robert believed such 
honors had no meaning in the Western world. I was able, 
however, to point out to him a precedent which proves that 

thing like Satan, and the ministers of the Tsungli Yamen quaked in- 
wardly when they heard of his appointment to Peking. When sounded 
as to his acceptability, they meekly answered, "As it has pleased the 
Queen to appoint him, we shall treat him with all due courtesy." Subse- 
quently, in their business discussions with Sir Harry, they were not so 
meek, always putting forward Chang Peilun, the " fighting member of 
the firm," to meet him with bluster and violence. Though he was up- 
right and pacific in principle, Sir Harry's temper, it must be confessed, 
was not always proof against the provocations of an Oriental junta. 

In private life he was the most amiable of men, full of magnetism and 
adorned with all noble and gentle virtues. His term in Peking was brief, 
perhaps fortunately for his fame, and no man has so powerfully impressed 
the imagination of the foreign community in China. His statue overlooks 
the public garden in Shanghai, as that of the man whom above all others 
they delighted to honor. 



424 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

they are not unknown. In the aristocratic society of Vienna, 
a minister of Francis I. complained that his wife was subjected 
to slights on account of her plebeian origin. " I can make that 
all right," said the emperor, and he forthwith conferred nobihty 
on her deceased ancestors. 

The baronetcy bestowed, in 1890, on Sir Robert by the 
Queen of Great Britain, gave him the more pleasure as it made 
him an ancestor — the founder of a family. I believe, however, 
that it required the investment of fifty thousand pounds in 
government three per cents., involving a considerable sacrifice 
in the way of income. " I am the more gratified," he said, in 
response to my note of congratulation, " because it represents 
a large amount of honest work — work carried on perseveringly 
from the age of ten." 

Sir Robert, though one of fortune's favorites and a man of 
preeminent talent, believes in work. Almost any day of the 
year he may be found in his oflfice from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with 
a brief interval for lunch and for siesta, to him no less essen- 
tial. He allows himself no vacation ; never quits Peking, not 
even to visit the Hills, which he has seen only at a distance ; 
and takes no form of exercise, except walking in his garden. 
For him the monotony of existence is relieved by music and 
literature. While he is at work the din of a brass band is often 
heard, suggesting that he drives his quill to the beat of the 
drum. But no sooner does he drop his pen than he takes up 
the fiddle-bow, and the brass band is silent. Like Luther, he 
has found the viohn the best banisher of care. 

Three or four years ago my wife sent him a New- Year's 
card adorned with a cat playing on a violin. Affecting to 
take umbrage at the allusion, he replied in comic verse that 
would have done credit to Hood, beginning, " O unfehne 
Martin! " Among his clever rhymes occurred the Chinese 
word ifiiao, which means " admirable." " So admirable are 
your verses," said my wife, in a note of thanks, " that when I 



SIR ROBERT HART AND THE CUSTOMS 425 

came to iniao I could not refrain from exclaiming, ' Micat 
Mtisal ' " Meeting him at dinner in the evening, he said to 
me, "That was splendid — 'My cat mews ah!'" No man 
more enjoys a joke, and few are more apt at making one. 

A poet by nature and taste, his Hfc-rrf facts and figures has 
not quenched the flame. On July 4, 1876, he handed me a 
poem in praise of the United States, to be read at the centen- 
nial dinner at our legation. It began with the sonorous line : 

" Nebraska's flagstaff proudly central stands," 

and expressed in terse iambics a keen appreciation of the spirit 
of our institutions. 

From time to time he has shown me some exceedingly good 
verses, but he has pubhshed nothing, and upon this I remarked 
to him, " The world will be as much surprised to see a volume 
of poems from you some day as it was to see one from Mr. 
W. E. H. Lecky." Poet he certainly is, if it be a proof of 
inspiration, like Coleridge, to make verses in one's sleep. One 
morning he repeated to me a very good quatrain, containing 
reason as well as rhyme, which had come to him in a dream. 

With the Latin classics he continues to keep himself familiar, 
and indulges in quotations with those who understand them ; 
but his favorite mental tonic is metaphysical philosophy. This 
was the study in which he most excelled, as I have been told 
by Dr. McCosh, whose lectures he attended in Queen's College, 
Belfast, before the learned president came to Princeton. Proud 
of his distinguished pupil. Dr. McCosh claimed the credit of 
having introduced him to the scene of his triumphs. " At the 
close of his college course," said the doctor, " Hart came to 
me and said, ' You have given me new tastes, which make it 
impossible for me to go back to my father's mill. Can you 
find me any congenial employment? ' I repHed by putting into 
his hands a call for young men to present themselves in Down- 
ing Street as competitors for posts in the consular service in 



426 



A CYCLE OF CATHAY 



China." Winning his prize, young Hart, then scarcely twenty, 
entered the consulate at Ningpo in 1854. Five years later he 
passed over to the employ of the Chinese government, in which 
the floating of the great loan, conditioned as it is on the cus- 
toms revenue, may fairly be regarded as the culmination of a 
long series of brilliant services. 

Another young man arrived at Ningpo along with Robert 
Hart, whose case may serve to " adorn a tale " by way of con- 
trast, if not to " point a moral." Growing tired of the consular 
service, in which the pay of the lower ranks was scarcely suf- 
ficient to make ends meet, X resigned, and started home. 

While waiting for a steamer in Shanghai, his eye caught the 
notice of a Spanish lottery, and he spent one of his last guineas 
on a ticket. Imagine his amazement, a few weeks later, to 
learn that he had drawn a prize of seven thousand dollars ! — 
a smile of Fortune to console him for the favors she had lavished 
on his rival. 




MIDWAY ARCH IN PASS AT THE GREAT WALL. (SEE PAGE 250.) 



CHAPTER XIV 

SIR THOMAS WADE AND THE AUDIENCE QUESTION 

His career — His scholarship — His temper — His diplomacy — Attempt at 
social intercourse with mandarins — The audience ceremony — The 
spell only half broken 

SO frequently has the name of Sir Thomas Wade occurred 
in the foregoing pages that a few additional recollections 
may not be unwelcome. For forty years he was a figure in 
the East. Arriving in Hong Kong in 1843, shortly after the 
close of the war, with a small ofhce in the garrison, he pres- 
ently acquired such a command of the Chinese language as to 
lead to his transfer to the civil service of the colony. Becom- 
ing Chinese secretary to Lord Elgin in the second war, he was 
made secretary of legation at Peking ; and, after being charge 
d'affaires^ filled for ten years the position of minister plenipo- 
tentiary. 

At a dinner at the United States legation, the circumstance 
being mentioned that donkeys are much used outside of Peking, 
though not deemed respectable within the gates, he remarked, 
" It was on a donkey that I came to the gate on being made 
her Majesty's minister." " May you continue to be * her 
Majesty's minister,' " said I, " until you can go away by rail." 
" Let us drink to that," he said, accepting it as a timely toast. 
He left Peking, in 1882, on horseback. Four years later a 
railway was ordered to be built from Tientsin to Tungcho, 
with the prospect of extension to the capital. It was, however, 

427 



428 A CYCLE OF CaTMaV 

countermanded on account of certain unlucky presages, such as 
a fire in the palace and the burning of the Temple of Heaven 
by a stroke of lightning. Foreign ministers are still left to 
come and go on donkeys, unless provided with private means 
of conveyance. 

When we first met at Taku, in 1858, he spoke of a book he 
was preparing to facihtate the acquisition of the Mandarin or 
court dialect. It was founded on a native work called Sajiho 
Ynlu, and came out in parts at long intervals ; but it was 
worthy to be the task of half a lifetime. It has been of im- 
mense service to foreign students, and has done more for the 
reputation of its author than any of his diplomatic achievements. 

At Peking we saw a good deal of each other. He often 
came to my house to talk over matters in dispute with the 
Yamen— not to get my views, but to put me in possession of 
his, believing that I would convey them to the Chinese min- 
isters, though he never asked me to do so. On one occasion, 
when the situation was very serious (it was after the Margary 
murder), he invited me to breakfast with himself alone, and 
after setting forth his ideas in a lengthy speech, in the course 
of which he grew more and more excited, he sprang from his 
seat, and, striking his hands together, exclaimed, "They will 
have to accept this, or there will be war ; and I, Thomas Francis 
Wade, will make it, as sure as there is a God in heaven!" 

A Russian minister once enacted a similar scene, desiring, 
like Wade, through me to make an impression on the Tsungli 
Yamen. I was lunching with him alone, when, complaining 
bitterly of the conduct of the Chinese ministers, he put on a 
furious air, and shrieked out that if they refused to comply with 
his demands, Je leur porterai lui coup dont Us ne se relevei'ont 
Jamais (" I'll give them a blow from which they will never 
recover"). He did not, however, threaten war or appeal to 
the Deity. With Wade such ebullitions were the natural ex- 
pression of an impatient temper. In dispute with the Chinese, 



S/J? T. WADE AND THE AUDIENCE QUESTION 429 

he would tear his hair and clench his fists, producing on a calm 
Oriental an impression of impotent rage rather than of danger. 
They resented such displays, but esteemed him very highly 
notwithstanding (I do not say nevertheless)^ and spoke with in- 
dulgence of his pic hi ("diseased liver"). Once, when I was 
lunching with him in company with Mr. Mori, the Japanese 
minister (there were no other guests), the conversation turned 
on the development of the British constitution. " How for- 
tunate," said I, " for the stability of the constitution, that Eng- 
land's future king is not conspicuous for talent ! " Half start- 
ing from his seat, he turned on me a look of mingled surprise 
and displeasure, leading me to think I had been guilty of a 
faux pas in disparaging the heir apparent at the table of the 
Queen's representative. Imagine my sense of relief when he 
gave vent to his feehngs in the question, " What do you think 
he could do against the constitution, evefi if he were a man of 
ability? " 

A good example of his influence with the Chinese is his 
agency, already mentioned, in preventing war with Japan, in 
1874, when the Japanese sent a hostile expedition against the 
savages of Formosa. Meeting him as he was going to the 
Yamen to settle the terms of a convention, I said, " Blessed 
are the peacemakers!" 

In his dealings with the Chinese, Sir Thomas was generally 
just, though he fell short of \\\^ jiistum et tenacem. When he 
was charge d'affaires, he said to me that he " would never sac- 
rifice the interests of four hundred millions to those of twenty- 
five." How few diplomatists have taken this broad view of 
their responsibilities! Ko we chi chu ("Every man for his 
master"), say the Chinese. Christian diplomacy, if there is 
such a thing, seldom rises above that heathen maxim. A rule 
laid down by the first Marquis Tseng (when viceroy of Nan- 
king) is equally commendable on the score of morality and of 
statesmanship : " What is beneficial to us, and not injurious to 



43 o A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

you, I demand. What is beneficial to you, and not injurious 
to us, I concede." 

When Sir Thomas was once walking alone, a young rowdy 
shied a stone at him, and when he turned to pursue his assail- 
ant the latter struck him on the head with a stick. A mem- 
ber of the Tsungli Yamen, who happened to be passing, took 
the fellow into custody. Alarmed at the possible consequences 
of an attack on the sacred person of an ambassador, the Yamen 
was disposed to inflict the most severe punishment, beginning 
with the bamboo and the wooden collar. But Wade, in his 
goodness of heart, requested that the culprit be set at liberty, 
and that certain debts due to British merchants in Hankow 
should be paid by way of satisfaction. " Curious plaster for a 
sore head," said Mr. Low, who did not quite approve of that 
mode of enforcing a just claim. 

A better opportunity for enforcing just claims, as well as 
for removing obstacles that lay in the path of progress, was 
afforded by the murder of Margary, a plucky young Enghsh- 
man, who, on entering the province of Yunnan from Burmah, 
was killed by Chinese officials, in spite of his passports. His 
object was to open a new route to India, theirs to deter any 
one from following in his footsteps. Wade charged the crime 
on the viceroy, and demanded, among other things, that he 
should be brought to Peking for trial. The Chinese refusing 
compliance, he struck his flag and left the capital. When the 
viceroy Li, at the suggestion of Mr. Hart, was sent to pursue 
him and open negotiations at Chefoo, he might have made a 
better use of the immense leverage supplied by a casus belli. 
It was, perhaps, his moderation and sense of justice that pre- 
vented his doing so. The only progressive measures for which 
he stipulated were the opening of Chungking, on the Upper 
Yang-tse, and the collection of opium duties at the open ports. 
Nor was it his fault if both, for a time at least, were rendered 
nugatory. Two other measures, which might have shed a 



SIR T. WADE AND THE AUDIENCE QUESTION 431 

brighter luster on his treaty, were held out to him as an olive^ 
branch, but he declined to discuss them. They were the estab- 
Hshment of a postal sj^stem* — China having no pubHc post ex- 
cept for the use of officials — and the introduction of a silver 
coinage, to take the place of lumps of bullion. Had he been 
aggressively inchned, he might have seized Chefoo by way of 
reprisal, and established in the North a focus of British influ- 
ence, alike convenient for coercion or protection. Had that 
been done, the war with Japan and the present ascendancy of 
Russia might have been averted. 

In the course of the correspondence which led to this rup- 
ture, Wade threatened Prince Kung with the forfeit of his per- 
sonal friendship. The prince coolly replied that he had noth- 
ing to lose in that line, his relations with the British minister 
being public and not private. He might have said as much to 
any other member of the diplomatic body. Such intercourse 
as existed was restricted to formal meetings at the Yamen or 
legations ; the foreign envoy had no other point of contact 
with the high society of the capital, and his circle of acquain- 
tance was confined to the members of one Yamen. 

This state of things Wade made a praiseworthy attempt to 
alter, but his efforts were not attended by any very flattering 
success, though supported by the German minister. In their 
interviews with the prince, they took occasion to describe the 
brilliant society that opens its arms to welcome a foreign envoy 
in Western capitals, and intimated a desire to form a more 
extended acquaintance with the official hfe of the Chinese 
metropolis. The Chinese New Year was fixed on as the time 
for inaugurating a new era of social intercourse. Why did not 
the prince throw open his palace and commence it by a state 
ball ? Japanese princes had done the fike without any prompt- 
ing. He, however, thought best to begin cautiously at the 
Tsungli Yamen. CalHng there on the day fixed for his recep- 
tion, I found his Highness surrounded by Manchu nobles and 
* Decreed by the emperor, May, 1896, 



432 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

Chinese dignitaries, to the number of three or four score, the 
most brilliant assemblage of mandarins I had ever seen — a 
miniature of the imperial court. As the legations were received 
separately, each minister had no more than half an hour to 
become acquainted with all those new faces. These new ac- 
quaintances returned the call according to program, visiting 
the ten legations in one day, and spending half an hour at each. 
The next step in knitting the bonds of amity was for the for- 
eign ministers to call on them at their houses. Only two or 
three were found at home ; the rest were purposely absent ; 
and it cost the Europeans, who were so anxious to be friendly, 
two days of toil to leave cards at forty doors in all parts of 
the city. 

Those domiciliary visits were not repeated ; all that now re- 
mains of that social departure is a visit once a year from a few 
additional mandarins, and a few more faces at the prince's New- 
Year's receptions. In Europe access to society is made easy 
for a foreign envoy by community of languages, ideas, and 
social forms, all of which are wanting in China. Not until the 
Chinese make up their minds, like Japan, to adopt the civili- 
zation of the West, will social intercourse be anything more 
than a compulsory mingling of oil and water. 

Sir Thomas married a daughter of Sir John Herschel, who 
will be long remembered in Peking for her own estimable 
qualities and, by the way, for a conundrum to which she gave 
occasion. " Why is the lady who presides in this legation like 
a young duck? " Answer : " Because the moment she left her 
shell she went to wade." 

Walking one day in a fine park attached to the summer 
palace, and curious to know what the guard would say, I in- 
quired who burned the buildings whose ruins lay around me. 

"Wei Toma" ("Wade Thomas"), he promptly replied. 

" Do you know," I asked, " that he is now British minister 
in Peking? " 



SIR T. WADE AND THE AUDIENCE QUESTION 433 

"He was," replied the guard, "but he is dead now; when 
he was taken into the presence of the emperor he was so fright- 
ened that he died." 

Certainly no man had more to do with the audience ques- 
tion, whether in its earlier or its later phases. He must have 
been consulted, but it may not have been by his advice that the 
demand for audience was not pressed in 1 862. When the ques- 
tion came up again, in 1873, it was he who bore the principal 
part in arranging the terms ; and, after the event, it was his 
hand that placed on record the most authentic account of it. 

Peking is the only place on the face of the earth where the 
ceremonial for receiving ambassadors takes rank as a serious 
matter of state policy. How could it be otherwise in a coun- 
try which makes ceremony a chief instrument of government, 
and in which a Board of Rites forms a leading department of 
the administration? 

When the first envoys arrived from Western powers, they 
were met by this question on the threshold of the palace. 
Through the succeeding centuries it has kept its place in front 
of all others. The friction occasioned by it has never ceased, 
and of late it has entered on an acute stage. What then is 
this mysterious question ? Is it a matter of dress, something 
like that of conformity to the costume of a European court as 
a condition for presentation? Like it it is ; only costume does 
not enter into it ; posturing takes its place as the prime essen- 
tial. The nine prostrations had always been exacted of envoys 
who entered the palace. Lord McCartney was received in a 
tent, when the emperor was on a hunting excursion, much as 
the Sultan of Morocco receives on horseback. The Tientsin 
treaties contain a vague assurance of some relaxation in the 
ceremonial ; but when the Allies entered Peking as victors, in 
i860, the matter was ignored in the convention there signed, 
and when their legations were established, their ministers were 
so far outwitted as to be persuaded to hold their right of audi- 



434 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

ence in abeyance, at least during the emperor's minority. 
Their gallantry was appealed to to spare the feelings of two 
young widows, who might be alarmed by the appearance of 
bearded strangers. They yielded the more gracefully, as they 
were not anxious to bow and scrape before an infant of six 
summers, forgetting that for state purposes the form of the 
audience was everything, and the personality of the prince 
nothing. Not the least mischievous of their many blunders, 
that decision had the effect of keeping them out of the Grand 
Palace for over thirty years. Of what consequence was the age 
of the sovereign, or the existence of a female regency? Did 
not those imperial ladies receive their own grandees, sitting be- 
hind a screen, and placing the puppet emperor in front? Why 
should they not do the same with ambassadors from the West? 
Had those ambassadors insisted on carrying the usages of 
Europe into the most august palace of the Eastern world, that 
would have done more than many battles to impress the native 
mind. Might it not have done something to emancipate the 
natives from a ritual that bars the way of progress? I have 
heard Chinese ministers complain that the audience ceremony 
places such a gulf between sovereign and subject as to render 
a profitable interchange of thought out of the question. They 
feel the burden, but not the opprobrium of it, though Japan and 
Siam have both abolished it as derogatory to human dignity. 
As soon as the Emperor Tungchih was proclaimed of 
age, and when the regents retired from behind the screen into 
the privacy of the inner court, a second application was made 
by the envoys for permission to present their credentials. A 
flutter of excitement was perceptible in the TsungU Yamen, 
grave and imperturbable as that body ordinarily is ; and in 
the legations nothing was talked of but the ceremonial of the 
coming audience. The vague proviso in the treaties, that 
nothing derogatory to the dignity of their countries should be 
required of the envoys, left a broad margin for disagreement, 



SIR T. WADE AND THE AUDIENCE QUESTION 435 

and it became a capital point for China to secure as much as 
possible in the way of demonstrations of reverence. The prime 
minister, Wensiang, sent for me, and, after talking over the 
matter, expressed a wish to invite one of the foreign ministers 
to his own house for a private interview — a thing never thought 
of until this critical question came up. He asked me to sug- 
gest a candidate for that honor, and I named Sir Thomas 
Wade, not merely as representing the nation that had always 
taken the lead in Chinese affairs, but as the only one who 
could speak without an interpreter. Another member of the 
Yamen, Chenghn, vice-governor of Peking, met Mr. Low, the 
American minister, at my house for the discussion of the same 
subject. He had been promoted, as he told me, with unex- 
ampled rapidity, and enjoyed the favor of the young emperor 
to such a degree that he thought he would be able to secure 
his Majesty's assent to any reasonable settlement of the ques- 
tion. The thing most devoutly desired was to deter the foreign 
ministers from persisting in their demand. This not succeed- 
ing, the next move was to persuade them to accept as the place 
for the audience a spacious summer-house in a park outside 
of the palace proper. In lieu of kneeling, it was agreed that 
the emperor should be content with three low bows. In the 
foreign community a rumor got abroad that the envoys would 
appear without boots — some wag having stated that they 
would see the emperor with Butzow (pronounced boots off), a 
Russian minister, who arrived just in time for the occasion. 
The fact that Sir Douglas Forsyth had actually drawn his 
boots, in audience with the King of Burmah, lent color to the 
joke. Other details are of no importance — save that the Chi- 
nese were somewhat disgusted with our republican simplicity 
when they saw other ministers glittering in gold and lace, and 
the American in plain black, without a star or spangle. 

So apprehensive was Sir Thomas Wade that the Chinese 
would report that the koto had been performed, as they do 



436 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

in the case of Lord McCartney, that he drew up in Chinese a 
minute account of all that occurred, and handed it to me for 
publication in the Peking " Magazine," of which I had the edi- 
torial oversight. The magazine was read by the Chinese min- 
isters, and as his statement was allowed to pass unchallenged, 
it acquired the weight of an undisputed authority. Yet, in 
spite of the magazine, the Chinese people will persist in believ- 
ing that the koto was performed. Nor is it unlikely that they 
will cleave to the tradition of the awful fate that overtook Sir 
Thomas, when he was struck by the "wrath-beam" from the 
dragon throne. 

The emperor dying not long after this, another infant was 
placed on the throne, and the dowager empresses took their 
seat behind a screen as in the previous reign. The reception 
of envoys was accordingly again postponed for fifteen years. 
In the meantime the diplomatic corps had made a discovery 
— not that the "pavilion of purple light" was outside of the 
palace proper, but that it had been used for the reception of 
vassals. When the time came for congratulating the new em- 
peror on his accession to power, they objected to the place as 
unsuitable, but consented to appear there once, on being as- 
sured that a new hall should be provided for the next occasion. 
The "new hall" proved to be much older than the old one, 
equally remote from the real palace, and situated in another 
division of the same park. It was found, moreover, to have 
a tainted history. 

Pleased with the novelty of the first audience, and desirous 
of airing his English, the emperor ordered that a reception of 
envoys should take place annually at the New- Year holidays. 
To his surprise and mortification, they declined the honor. No 
New-Year's reception took place ; but some foreign ministers, 
on their arrival and departure, allowed themselves to be re- 
ceived in that objectionable building, much to the dissatisfac- 
tion of their colleagues. France and Russia held together in 



SIR T. WADE AND THE AUDIENCE QUESTION 437 

refusing any concession on that point, and their persistency 
has at length been rewarded. The gates of the " Forbidden 
City" have rolled back to admit envoys from the West for 
the first time in a century. But would they have opened if 
the artillery of Japan had not been thundering at the outer 
defenses of the empire? Here is a concise account of that 
imposing function by one who participated : 

" The audience took place on Monday last at the Imperial 
Palace. The ministers entered by the eastern door, or Tung- 
an-men, where two secretaries of the Tsungli Yamen received 
them, and conducted them to a large hall in the center of two 
pavilions, where the principal ministers of state were assem- 
bled. Thence they were taken along a raised causeway, each 
minister conducted by a prince, to the throne-room, or hall, 
where the emperor was seated on a throne placed on a dais 
raised five steps above the floor. Before the emperor was 
placed a table covered with yellow cloth. The hall was draped 
with rose silk hangings, relieved with yellow cords, and deco- 
rated with large chafing-dishes and incense burners in cloisonne 
work. The speech of each minister, after being read by him, 
was translated into Chinese by an interpreter; then Prince 
Kung ascended to the foot of the imperial throne, and, kneel- 
ing, translated it to the emperor in the Manchu tongue. At 
the back of the imperial throne was hung a large silk curtain, 
decorated with peacock's feathers, behind which the empress 
dowager was placed so as to be able to see and hear what took 
place without being seen. The emperor is pale, with pleasant 
features and eyes of sparkling briUiancy. Behind the hall of 
audience were placed a body of troops. Everything was in 
perfect order and spotlessly clean. The reception took place 
in the midsj; of the most profound silence, which added to the 
grandeur and solemnity of the ceremony." * 

Very amusing is the notice in the " Court Gazette " : " The 

* " Peking and Tientsin Times," November 17, 1894. 



438 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

following ministers were received in audience by his Majesty 
in the Hall of Literary Glory, viz., American, Russian, English, 
French, Belgian, Swedish, and the acting vmiister for Japan^ 

As no allusion is made to any deviation from the prescribed 
ritual, no Chinese reader w^ould doubt that each of those en- 
voys performed the full tale of prostrations ; nor would it enter 
his head to account for the presence of a Japanese during the 
war otherwise than as soliciting pardon for the " rebelhous " 
conduct of his countrymen. How should he know that neither 
Japanese nor Swede was present, and that both were personi- 
fications of functions exercised by the minister of the United 
States? 

This is all that has been gained in the way of access to the 
court after a struggle of over forty years, dating from the at- 
tempt of Bowring and MacLane to reach Peking in 1854 — 
this solemn entry and solemn withdrawal! If it were to stop 
there, what would it be worth ? Native officials are received 
in a different hall, and with different ceremonies ; nor is there 
any approach to a commingling of the two streams. Had Lord 
Elgin stipulated that the British ministers should be received 
in the Hall of Great Harmony (a step which Sir Thomas 
Wade, as Chinese secretary, most probably recommended), 
and had his successors not waived their claim to audience on 
the absurd plea of a female regency, the influence of example 
and habit must have borne fruit. Might we not have seen, as 
we have seen in Japan, the abolition of the koto, and the ex- 
tention to our envoys of all those courtesies which Chinese 
ministers receive at the courts of Europe? Thanks to this two- 
fold blunder, the Chinese have succeeded in turning the edge 
of an innovation which they were powerless to prevent. 



CHAPTER XV 

THE MISSIONARY QUESTION 

Retrospect — The age of persecution — Toleration by edict — Religious 
liberty by treaty — Right of residence in the interior — The French 
protectorate of Roman Catholic missions — The recent riots : their 
cause and cure — The outlook 

FOR the Chinese government this means, How may we min- 
imize the inconveniences arising from the operations of mis- 
sionaries? For a party among officials and people it means, 
How may we get rid of them altogether? For the representa- 
tives of Christian powers it means, How far are we bound by 
policy or duty to interfere for the protection of missionaries 
and their converts? With missionaries and their supporters 
it takes the form, How can we accomplish the greatest results 
with the means at our disposal? 

The history of modern missions * in China opens with the 
arrival of the learned Jesuit, Father Ricci, and his associates, 
who commenced their adventurous crusade in 1582. Difficul- 
ties apparently insuperable gave way before their learning, tact, 

* Christianity was introduced into the northwest provinces in the 
seventh century by Nestorians from Persia. Received with favor at 
Singanfu, where the court then was, their churches flourished for a time. 
But their religion was of a low type, and they gradually disappeared like 
a river in the desert, leaving nothing but a stone to tell of their existence. 

In the thirteenth century, when the Mongols had possession, mission- 
aries from Rome came by land to Peking, and met with some success ; but 
their mission was discontinued, and left no trace behind. 

439 



440 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

and apostolic zeal. During the following century Christianity 
struck its roots deep in the soil of the empire. There was even 
a prospect that the great emperor Kanghi would adopt the new 
faith. 

Their successes, however, aroused opposition ; their conflicts 
with the Dominicans, who came in as a disturbing element, 
lowered their prestige ; and the action of the pope in condemn- 
ing Shangfi, the God worshiped by the sages of China, and 
forbidding the worship of ancestors, which they had made the 
foundation of social order, alienated both princes and people. 
In 1724 the missionaries were banished, and their converts 
sent into exile. The little communities scattered throughout 
the vast interior owed their preservation then, as they may 
again, to a want of concert among mandarins in enforcing the 
prohibitory laws. In China, as in the Roman empire, perse- 
cution raged in one province, while Christians were unmolested 
in another. For a century and a quarter the supreme power 
showed no disposition to revoke its prohibitory enactments, 
and from time to time they were put into spasmodic execution. 
At the close of the opium war a good many of the faithful were 
still in exile. 

During all this time a few missionaries were able to conceal 
themselves in Christian villages, whither they penetrated at the 
risk of life, that they might comfort and sustain their persecuted 
brethren. After the signing of the French treaty, in 1844, the 
exiles were recalled, and the ban of prohibition removed. 
This was done, not as a matter of obligation, but as an act of 
grace, by special edict, issued at the request of the French 
minister. At the request of the British minister the edict was 
so construed as to extend the same immunities to the Protestant 
form of faith. To France belongs the honor of inaugurating 
the new era of religious freedom. The English, whose guns 
had prostrated the barriers in the way of commerce, in making 
their treaty, two years earlier, thought of nothing but trade. 



THE MISSIONARY QUESTION 441 

It might not, indeed, have been expedient to demand absolute 
freedom of reh'gion, but why did they not remember those 
brave missionaries and their faithful adherents in the hour of 
victory? The raising of a finger would have been sufficient to 
remove from them the sword of Damocles, and to shed a little 
glory on an inglorious war. 

This was the first stage in the way of enfranchisement. 
Under its provisions missionaries enjoyed no small privileges, 
though they were still of the nature of uncovenanted mercies. 
Protestants established themselves in the five ports, from which 
they were able to make long journeys inland, though nominally 
restricted to a radius of twenty miles, while Catholics remained 
in all the provinces without molestation. 

For the " Arrow " war it was reserved to open the next stage, 
amounting to a complete immunity from all disabilities under 
guarantee of treaty stipulation. This was required by the cur- 
rent of missionary effort, which had set strongly in the direction 
of China; and the men charged with the negotiations of 1858 
were either in sympathy with the cause of missions, or of mental 
breadth to perceive that no settlement could be satisfactory 
that would leave them to the caprice of emperors or manda- 
rins. It was a sublime spectacle — the great powers of the 
earth sinking their differences of creed, and joining their shields 
to protect the church of Christ. China found it to her inter- 
est not to reject their demands. Again it was to France that 
Christian missions were indebted for a signal extension of their 
privileges, though the manner in which it was obtained is open 
to the charge of being even more equivocal than the ordinary 
proceedings of diplomacy. A discrepancy is found to exist 
between the two texts of the French treaty. The Chinese con- 
tains a clause securing to Roman Catholic missionaries the 
right of buying land and building houses in the interior, though 
the French text has nothing of the kind. By whom the attention 
of the Chinese authorities was first drawn to this disagreement 



442 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

I know not, but when, twenty-five or twenty-six years ago, I 
was asked to translate the article for comparison, I supposed 
that the Tsungli Yamen intended to disallow such privileges as 
were based on that interpolation, the French text being declared 
authoritative on points of difference. To this day, however, 
they have never taken a step in that direction, for the obvious 
reason that, the interpolation being in Chinese, there was no 
ground to complain that they had been hoodwinked. Nor 
have they shown any disposition to withhold from Protestants 
what they conceded to Catholics. Missionaries of both con- 
fessions are allowed to erect permanent establishments wherever 
local opposition does not prevent their doing so. Sometimes, 
indeed, a local magistrate, when asked by American or English 
missionaries to ratify a purchase in the interior, objects that 
nothing of the kind is provided for in their treaties. But that 
is ignorance or perversity on the part of the mandarin, not an 
authoritative interpretation of treaty rights. For on appeal to 
Peking, the Tsungli Yamen always admits the force of the 
"favored nation clause." That precious little clause is the 
lever of a canal-lock, which causes the water from higher 
grounds to flow into our own empty basin. It entitles us to 
all the advantages conceded to the English or French, since 
our treaty was signed a few days in advance of theirs. If any 
one regrets that privileges of such importance should be purely 
derivative (there are missionaries who would have our treaty 
revised on that account), let him reflect that the navigation of 
the Yang-tse-Kiang, the estabhshment of a legation at Peking, 
and access to half the ports of trade are also derivative. No 
diplomatist would think it wise to include them in a new con- 
vention, because, in that case, they would have to be paid for 
by concessions on our part, whereas at present we get them 
gratis. 

The local opposition, which frequently interferes with the 
exercise of these rights, originates mostly with the mandarins ; 



THE MISSIONARY QUESTION 443 

and the French minister, M. Berthemy, supposed he had 
drawn its teeth when, in 1865, he obtained a convention mak- 
ing it unnecessary to refer to the officials prior to the conclu- 
sion of a purchase. In yielding to his wishes, and defining the 
manner in which missionaries should exercise rights resting on 
that interpolated clause, the Yamen put to rest all questions as 
to its validity. For some reason that convention was allowed 
to slumber for thirty years: M. Gerard, the present represen- 
tative of France, has just succeeded in bringing it to life, and 
the American minister will no doubt help him to keep it awake. 
In a despatch to our consul-general at Shanghai, explaining 
its application to the case of our own missionaries. Colonel 
Denby says : *' There will, of course, be no question as to the 
propriety of doing away with the requirement that the con- 
sent of the local authorities must be obtained before the sale 
is made." 

A favorite mode of nipping new missions in the bud has been 
for the local officials to refuse consent, and apply the bamboo 
to all persons concerned in a sale. Hereafter such proceed- 
ings will not be so frequent, but no one who knows China 
imagines that they will cease. 

France, it is known, arrogates to herself a protectorate over 
Catholic missions in China as well as in Turkey. Of late the 
representatives of Germany and Italy have manifested a dis- 
position to contest that pretension, at least so far as missions 
of their own nationality are concerned. Efforts have also been 
made to open direct relations between the empire and the 
Holy See, the latter replacing France in taking cognizance of 
the claims and grievances of its adherents. But, wanting the 
force to prosecute the one or redress the other, it is not likely 
that the pope would consent to assume the guardianship of 
his own flock unless he could appeal, in case of need, to the 
sword of some power strong enough to enforce his demands. 
China, for her part, would welcome a papal representative, if 



444 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

by that means she might eliminate the French element from 
church questions — not otherwise. It will not be for the inter- 
est of Catholic missions to have a nuncio, legate, or ablegate 
supersede the French minister in the relation which he now 
sustains toward them, until the Chinese government decides to 
foster instead of checking the spread of the Christian faith. 

The direct representation of the Vatican, though much 
mooted of late, is not a new idea. It was mentioned to me 
more than twenty years ago by a French minister in Peking, 
with a view to finding out how such a proposal would be re- 
ceived by the Chinese government. He was himself strongly 
in favor of the measure, thinking that it would save the French 
legation a world of trouble, while, at the same time, it would 
augment the prestige of the church. His sentiments were an 
echo of those of the home government, which at that time was 
violently antipapal in its general tendencies. 

In 1 88 1 I listened to a course of lectures on the relations of 
church and state, delivered in the College de France by the elo- 
quent Professor Adolphe Francke. One was on the relations 
of the government to Christian missions. Well do I remem- 
ber the impassioned earnestness with which he denounced the 
proposal to abolish the concordat and cut the missions adrift. 
After setting forth the advantages which France derived from 
her sacred charge, he concluded with a most impressive per- 
oration, in which he declared that " if France could be mad 
enough to abdicate that post of influence and honor, Protes- 
tant Germany stood ready to take her place as protectress of 
Catholic missions." 

Since that day a change has taken place in the sentiments 
of French officials. Their protectorate of missions will not be 
surrendered as long as a pretext can be found for holding on 
to it. If the mandarins of China desire France to relax her 
grasp on the milHon or so of Catholic converts, their tactics 
are as much at fault as were those of the North Wind when he 



THE MISSIONARY QUESTION 445 

tried to force a traveler to take off his cloak by blowing one 
of his fiercest blasts. What could the traveler do but wrap it 
more tightly about him? 

If the first stage in the recent histary of missions was their 
toleration by edict, and the second the recognition of their 
legal status by treaty compact, the systematic attempt to crush 
them out by mob violence may be regarded as a third stage. 
On this phase they entered in June, 1870, when a Catholic 
mission in Tientsin was destroyed, and sisters, priests, and a 
French consul were murdered by the populace, led on by an 
ex-general of the Chinese army. The minds of the people had 
been prepared by the dissemination of false rumors, and when 
they were wrought up to the required point the mandarins 
stood aloof and allowed the storm to take its course. Since 
that date there have been twenty or more anti-foreign — not 
altogether anti-mission — riots of sufficient magnitude to be 
visible across the seas ; culminating this year in the expulsion 
of missionaries from the capital of Szechuen, and the mas- 
sacre at Kucheng, near Fuchau. Most of these have con- 
formed to the original type in every particular— beginning 
with tracts and placards as their exciting cause, followed by 
studied negligence on the part of mandarins (who always con- 
trived to come too late when their aid was invoked), and fin- 
ishing with an inquiry how many heads and how much money 
would satisfy the resulting claims. 

If, in 1870, the French charge, declining the offer of money 
and heads, had waited until he could have a fleet of gunboats 
in the Peiho, if then the whole suburb where the riot occurred 
had been laid in ashes, and the ground confiscated for a 
French concession, the government would have taken care 
that there should not be a second riot. Being let off cheap, 
the anti-foreign mandarins felt that they could afford to con- 
tinue the process of fanning the flame of patriotism. These 
occurrences have created an impression on the mind of a pub- 



446 A CYCLE OF CATHAY . 

lie not very well informed on the subject of missions, that for 
our government to back up the missionaries by affording pro- 
tection or exacting redress is equivalent to forcing our religion 
gn an unwilhng people. But is it forcing our religion on the 
Chinese to protect our missionaries any more than it is forcing 
our commerce on them to protect our merchants? No duty 
is plainer than that of requiring the government of China to 
provide for the security of our mercantile establishments, and 
to leave the people free to buy or sell as they may choose. 
The missionary asks the same, and no more. 

But are the people unwilling to have missionaries live 
among them? If they were we should have had to count 
many more than twenty riots during this quarter of a century. 
Their increase has not kept pace with the growth of the mis- 
sionary work. One a year in a country of such vast extent, and 
with a missionary force of over two thousand, is no proof of 
popular ill-will, but rather the reverse. 

The impression made by these riots is the more profound, as, 
in addition to sporadic manifestations, they occasionally burst 
forth with the virulence of an epidemic. The study of these 
epidemics will show the nature of the disease. In 1891 four 
such outbreaks occurred. They were all on the banks of the 
Yang-tse, and all at ports of trade, nor were they, save in one 
instance, specially aimed at missionaries. Of the hundreds 
of missionaries living away from the river, scarcely one was 
molested. It is morally certain that, among the mixed motives 
of the excited masses, the diversion of the carrying trade from 
native junks to foreign steamers was at the bottom of the 
movement. On the Upper Yang-tse, where two of the riots 
occurred, so strong was the opposition to steamers ascending 
the rapids that the British minister felt constrained to waive the 
exercise of that right. No special effort was made to keep mis- 
sionaries out of Chungking, but the mandarins moved heaven 
and earth to prevent the coming of the steamer " Kuling." 



THE MISSIONARY QUESTION 447 

A few years ago a Hindu soldier on guard at the British 
consulate at Chinkiang struck a Chinaman. In half an hour 
all the foreign houses in the settlement were laid in ashes. At 
Canton a foreign tide-waiter in the customs service shot a 
boy by accident. A furious attack was made on the foreign 
quarter, which narrowly escaped destruction. At Ichang, in 
1895, a shot from an air-gun striking a small official, the popu- 
lace threw themselves on the handful of foreigners, and a 
massacre would have ensued but for the opportune arrival of a 
force from a gunboat. These instances (and such are numer- 
ous) suffice to show what fires are burning beneath a thin crust 
of cold lava, and to prove that if missionaries are attacked 
oftener than others it is chiefly because they are more exposed. 

For the recent cases of outrage the war with Japan is in part 
responsible. In Manchuria the soldiers who murdered Wylie 
looked on all foreigners as abettors of the Japanese. In Sze- 
chuen this placard was posted : " At the present time, when 
Japan has seized Chinese territory, you English, French, and 
Americans have looked on with folded hands. If you wish to 
preach your doctrines in China you must first drive the Japa- 
nese back into their own country." We shall see that other 
passions were appealed to by the mandarins. At Kucheng, 
opposite the island of Formosa, the same motive was doubtless 
present as a preparatory influence, though the Vegetarians — a 
secret society, half robber, half rebel — murdered the mission- 
aries in revenge for their attempts to bring them to justice for 
robbing native Christians. Unlike Hindu or Mohammedan, 
the ordinary Chinese is so far from fanaticism that he appears 
to be almost destitute of religious sentiments. Not one attack 
on missionaries, that I ever heard of, was made by Buddhists, 
Taoists, or any other sect, on the ground of religious differ- 
ences. 

The instigators of mobs are generally mandarins or members 
of the student class, who seek to fortify the public mind against 



448 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

the influx of foreign ideas by accusing foreigners of horrible 
crimes. The most inflammatory, though not the most revolt- 
ing, of these accusations is that of kidnapping children, and 
taking their eyes, blood, and fat for the preparation of magical 
drugs. Other forms of immorality are too familiar in the ex- 
perience of the natives to excite any very strong feeling. Kid- 
napping, murder, and magic are required to lire the loyal 
heart. 

One of the worst riots in 1891 was directly due to the super- 
stitious belief that infants were used for medicine. At Wusui 
the people were aroused to sudden fury by seeing four children 
in a basket on their way to a foundhng hospital. The same 
superstition was adroitly employed to foment the recent riots 
in Szechuen. Here is an account of their origin, gi\'en by 
the viceroy by whom they are believed to have been organized. 

" They found," he says, " two children inside, in cages, in a 
state of suspended animation. They were taken to the office 
of a magistrate, and skilful doctors called in, who found in 
their nostrils some kind of black drug, which was the cause of 
their insensibility. When restored to consciousness the chil- 
dren related how they had been kidnapped by a foreigner, who 
administered the drug, but they knew no more. Upon this 
dreadful crime being brought to light the people were fired 
with indignation," etc. 

What must we think of a government which, after receiving 
this shameful document, fixed on its author as the fittest person 
to find out and to punish the guilty? It is only fair to state 
that the government received new light, and stripped him of 
all his honors, as soon as the British squadron began to steam 
toward Nanking. 

One of the anti-foreign tracts most widely circulated was 
leveled at opium. It purported to be the statement of a native 
of Amoy — a physician, who had been kidnapped and carried 
to a foreign country. He saw his companions led out frorn 



THE MISSIONARY QUESTION 449 

day to day to have their blood drawn off for use in the manu- 
facture of opium, but before it came to his turn he contrived 
to escape. If the leading motive for this absurd fiction was to 
deter Chinese from the use of the drug, is it not plain that the 
secondary aim was to inspire them with a hatred of foreign- 
ers? "The Chinese themselves," says Mr. Henry Norman, 
" bracket opium and missionaries together as the twin curses 
of the country." If by " Chinese " he means the people gen- 
erally, the statement is incorrect ; for the testimony of mission- 
aries is uniform that the common people are well disposed 
until they are stirred up by members of the official classes. It 
is true, however, or rather was true, of some of the rulers of 
China. I recall the very day when the now famous mot was 
coined. I was dining with Sir Rutherford Alcock on the eve 
of his departure from Peking, in 1869. "What do you think 
Prince Kung said to me when I was taking leave?" he asked ; 
and then added, in a tone of mild banter, " He said that he 
wished I would take away with me both opium and mission- 
aries." Well might the prince connect them together as the 
source of China's woes. For did not opium bring on the first 
war with England? Was it not to avenge a missionary killed 
in Kwangsi that the French army came to Peking in i860? 
And might not other armies come to avenge the slaughter of 
other missionaries? 

A prominent ofificial, who had been chancellor of the prov- 
ince of Yunnan, once came to me with a plan for preventing 
anti- Christian riots, which he wished me to lay before the 
Tsungli Yamen and bring to the notice of the foreign envoys. 
It consisted of four rules, as follows : 

" I. That the rescue and rearing of foundlings be left to the 
Chinese authorities, in order to put an end to stories of boiling 
and eating infaftts. 

" 2. That the daughters of native Christians shall not be 
permitted to become nuns, nor missionaries be permitted to 



450 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

lodge in the families of native Christians, in order to remove 
suspicions of im??iorality. 

" 3. Missionaries shall take no part in the celebration of 
funerals, in order to put an end to stories of their plucking out 
the eyes of the dead. 

" 4. Women shall not attend public worship along with men, 
in order to remove the reproach of iiidecejit promiscuity T 

I refrained from telling my distinguished visitor that his 
plan was absurd, but I gave him no encouragement to expect 
that any one of his rules would be seriously considered. He 
left me a copy, and I have kept it as a specimen of the stock 
charges made use of to excite the imagination of an ignorant 
rabble. Some of those calumnies originally grew out of the 
peculiar constitution and methods of Roman Catholic missions ; 
but when Protestants came on the stage the same charges were 
leveled at them, and riots are distributed between the two con- 
fessions pretty impartially. In Chengtu it was at a Protestant 
mission that the rioting began. There is no comfort in mutual 
recrimination, and you seldom hear one party reproach the 
other for causing the calamity. " Nous sommes tons dans le 
meme bateau'' ("We are all in the same boat"), the excellent 
Father Favier, of Peking, once said to me. " Protestants have 
the advantage in greater publicity. Neither can alter their 
fundamental principles, and it is not to be expected that pru- 
dence will always be able to avoid occasions for the tongue of 
slander or the hand of violence. A chance spark will some- 
times precipitate an explosion of this inflammable gas. Pow- 
der you can see and guard against, but the terrible ' fire-damp ' 
that lurks in darkness is invisible." 

Last year a lady engaged in medical work at Canton noticed 
a coolie, who had fallen down from a stroke of the plague near 
her house, and endeavored to bring him in for treatment. In- 
stantly she was treated to a shower of stones, and, half dead, 
she was rescued with great peril by a gentleman in the cus- 



THE MISSIONARY QUESTION 45 1 

toms service. A rumor had got abroad that foreigners were 
spreading the plague. A Scotch missionary at Amoy, going to 
a country chapel, was followed by a curious but good-natured 
crowd. A boy stumbHng, he stooped to pick him up, and 
instantly the good-humor gave way to fury. The crowd set 
upon him with violence, and when he took refuge in his chapel, 
they besieged the place, and would have torn it down but for 
the timely arrival of a magistrate. Another missionary, having 
occupied a new station near Peking, walked out on the street 
one morning, leading a little child by the hand. That was a 
red rag for the Chinese bull. In five minutes he was beaten 
almost to death. In each of these cases, the rabble believed 
the foreigner had bewitched, or that his touch would bewitch, 
the child. In the latter case, the magistrate was induced by 
the American charge d'affaires to issue a cautionary proclama- 
tion. The document, after reciting the occurrence, and giv- 
ing warning against doing anything to annoy the missionary, 
wound up by expressing confidence that " all self-respecting 
people would refrain from going near him." (Who says the 
Chinese are deficient in a sense of humor?) Study and experi- 
ence will, however, enable missionaries to diminish the num- 
ber of rocks of offense. It is a good sign that a conference 
of missionaries at Shanghai were recently discussing that sub- 
ject, and seeking advice from a Chinese pastor of high repute 
for talents and piety. 

To the missionaries it is a great advantage that they can 
appeal to an emphatic decree from the throne, issued in 189 1, 
acknowledging their right to propagate their faith, and forbid- 
ding anti-Christian agitation. The document is valuable for 
citation ; but the mandarins posted it in dark corners, if at all, 
and paid it very Htde heed, knowing that it was not a sponta- 
neous expression of the imperial will. This edict says : 

"The right of foreign missionaries to promulgate their re- 
ligion in China is provided for by treaties, and by imperial de- 



452 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

crees which were issued prior to those treaty stipulations. The 
authorities of all the provinces were commanded to afford them 
protection as circumstances might require. 

" The religions of the West have for their object the incul- 
cation of virtue, and, though our people become converted, 
they continue to be Chinese subjects. There is no reason why 
there should not be harmony between the people and the ad- 
herents of foreign religions. The whole trouble arises from 
lawless ruffians fabricating baseless stories. 

*' We command the Manchu generals, the viceroys and gov- 
ernors everywhere, to issue proclamations clearly explaining to 
the people that they must on no account give ear to such idle 
tales, and wantonly cause trouble." 

Satisfactory proclamations have been issued by local manda- 
rins in sufficient number to show that they are not all opposed 
to missionaries. Here is one from the prefect of Nanking : 

" The prefect, with the magistrate of the provincial capital, 
has personally visited each church, and commanded the magis- 
trates of outside districts to visit personally each mission sta- 
tion and talk with the missionaries. We have personally in- 
spected the hospitals, school-houses, etc. They are for good 
purposes, estabhshed with a sincere desire to save men. 
Though there are Chinese who take pleasure in doing good, 
there are none that excel these missionaries. Let none of you 
invent false reports." (Dated July 4, 1895.) 

It greatly enhances the value of this testimony that it is not 
based on hearsay. Besides secret inspection of the missions, 
for that is what is meant, the correspondent who forwarded 
this document informs us that "three weeks ago our district 
magistrate invited all the men of our missionary community 
to a dinner, treating them with all honor." * 

'' This proclamation," says the editor in whose columns we 

* Rev. T. W. Houston, of Nanking, in the New York " Evangelist," 
September 12, 1895. 



THE MISSIONARY QUESTION 453 

find it, " is, in fact, the most conclusive reply thus far made to 
much that passes for well-grounded judgment as to missionary 
work and influence." 

Have those who say that " missionaries are a bad lot," and 
that " they do more harm than good," hke this Chinese official, 
taken the trouble to inform themselves by "personal inspec- 
tion"? They may have passed up and down the China coast, 
and made certain inquiries of consuls, merchants, and seafar- 
ing men, but did they visit chapels, schools, and hospitals, or 
take the trouble to ascertain the opinions and experiences of 
missionaries? Colonel Denby, the American minister in China, 
has done that, and this is his verdict, contained in a despatch 
to the Secretary of State, March 22, 1895. Speaking of 
Roman Catholics as well as Protestants, he says : " I think 
that no one can controvert the patent fact that the Chinese 
are enormously benefited by the labors of the missionaries in 
their midst. I can and do say that the missionaries in China 
are self-sacrificing ; that their lives are pure ; that they are de- 
voted to their work ; that the arts and sciences and civilization 
are greatly spread by their efforts ; that they are the leaders 
in all charitable work ; that they do make converts, and such 
converts as are mentally benefited by conversion." 

This is the judgment of an honest, able man, derived from 
an experience of ten years ; and it is the more valuable as 
Colonel Denby went to China with a sort of prejudice against 
missionaries and their work. I was present at a meeting, 
eight or nine years ago, where he made an address, in which 
he publicly recanted, and ascribed the change in his views to 
what he had seen in visits to mission stations in various parts 
of China. 

An important question yet remains, viz.. What measure of 
success has been attained by the missions in China? For 
nearly thirty years I have watched them from the outside, 
having no connection with any missionary society to bias my 



454 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

judgment. I can testify that they have made progress. There 
is, indeed, no better testimony to that fact than the increased 
activity of the opposition. I hold that the resuUs achieved 
afford good ground for expecting more briUiant results in 
the near future. Much of the work done has been of such 
a nature that its effect is not visible on the surface. When 
works were going on which resulted in the removal of those 
dangerous rocks called Hell Gate from one of the entrances 
to New York harbor, a careless observer might have reported 
that there was nothing to show in proportion to the expendi- 
ture of public funds. Yet, deep down in the water, the roots 
of the rocks were being honeycombed with drill holes, and 
when the hour came, after long years of preparation, a spark 
from a battery sent the whole mass high in the air. 

There are, however, visible results in full proportion to the 
means employed. The one or two hundreds of converts 
whom I found in connection with Protestant churches at my 
arrival, in 1850, have expanded to fifty-five or sixty thousand 
in 1895. This, the lowest estimate, compared with the thirty- 
five thousand in 1890 (obtained by a sort of census), will give 
the rate of increase. The churches, or organized companies 
of believers, are not far from a thousand. Some hundreds of 
these are supplied with native pastors, while the number of 
evangelists, who have a roving commission to plant the gospel 
in new fields, is greatly on the increase. Mission schools, 
some of which take rank as colleges, are raising up large 
numbers of young men well equipped for this work. Num- 
bers of students from mission schools have been drafted into 
the new university at Tientsin, and the demand for such is 
certain to extend. Here, then, is an agency from which 
there is more to hope than from an excessive multiplication of 
the foreign element. Foreign missionaries in large numbers 
will, it is true, be needed for a long time, and they will find 
ample scope for their energies in the work of education and 



THE MISSIONARY QUESTION 455 

superintendence. There is no danger of too many entering 
the field, if our missionary societies encourage none to offer 
who are not fitted by superior training. Weak and ignorant 
men and women are out of place in China. In addition to 
other qualifications, they require to be strong in faith, and full 
of the Holy Ghost. 

If it be true, and it certainly is, that the grandest enterprise 
that appeals to the heart of man is the conversion of the 
world to Christ, it is unquestionable that the grandest of mis- 
sion fields is the empire of China. The actual state of afi'airs 
cannot be better described than in the words of the apostle 
who led the assault on pagan Rome : "A great and effectual 
door is opened unto us, and there are many adversaries ^ 

" China for Christ, even though it take a thousand years," * 
should be the war-cry of the new crusade. But there is reason 
to believe that, with the growing multitude of native agents, 
the work of evangelization may be practically completed in the 
tenth part of that time. The chief opposition comes, as we 
have seen, from members of the literary corporation. The sci- 
entific ingredients which the government is forced to introduce 
into the examinations for the civil service may be rehed on to 
revolutionize that obstructive body, and to bring it into line with 
the progress of the age. Their narrow-minded conservatism 
gone, they will be in sympathy with the educational and humane 
agencies of the church of Christ, and be far more accessible to 
spiritual influences than they now are, especially when they come 
to understand that there is no necessary conflict between Christ 
and Confucius, any more than there was between Paul and 
Plato. 

In the immature condition of the native church, its depen- 
dence on foreign teachers, and the necessity for foreign inter- 
ference to hold the government up to the duty of protecting 
them and their converts, unavoidably excite a degree of odium. 

* The words of John Angell James. 



456 A CYCLE OF CATHAY 

When it becomes strong enough to dispense with foreign 
teachers, and when the government, hke that of Japan, comes 
to recognize fully the rights of conscience, and to throw its 
aegis over the Christian communities, much of the antipathy 
arising from spurious patriotism will disappear. 

If it be asked how long it is hkely to be before the nations 
of Christendom can safely withdraw from their missionaries 
and native Christians even the semblance of a protectorate, I 
answer that it may be withdrawn as soon as they are prepared 
to renounce extra-territorial privileges for all their citizens, and 
to trust life and property to the jurisdiction of Chinese courts. 
China must first revolutionize her judicial system, and show 
that her entire government is penetrated with the modern 
spirit. Already this stage has been reached in Japan, and it 
was not preceded by riots. Let the viceroys be compelled to 
stop the riots, and it will come in China all the sooner. But 
does it pay for missions to win their way by slow degrees and 
at enormous cost? This is an objection that we often hear in 
the guise of a question. The exclamation, " To what purpose 
this waste? " was not a question, but a complaint. Those who 
make it in modern times are not those who " have the bag " 
or who contribute to its contents. The man who would put 
a money value on the religion in which he was nurtured would 
justify Judas in selling his Master. Yet a word on the subject 
of worldly benefits may not be unsuitable to bring this discus- 
sion to a close. What a revenue will the civilization of Africa 
bring to each of the share-holding powers? Of how much 
more value would China be to the commercial world if her 
standard of comfort were somewhat elevated— if, for example, 
her industrious millions took to wearing shirts, and if every 
man required as much soap and as many changes of raiment 
as a European of the same class ? One does not need to live 
long among them to feel that, in comfort as in coinage, the 
standard of Europe is gold, and that of China silver, if not a 



THE MISSIONARY QUESTION 457 

baser metal. To show how the seeds of a higher civiHzation 
are being sown, I may mention that the late Dr. S. R. Brown, 
before going as a missionary to Japan, had charge of a school 
in Hong Kong, under the auspices of the Morrison Education 
Society. One of his pupils was Yung Wing,* who brought a 
large body of young men to the United States for education. 
Another was Tang Kingsing, who led the way in organizing the 
new merchant marine of China. What may we not hope from 
the many thousands now being educated in mission schools! 

I may add that it is to missionaries that China is indebted 
for the greater part of the text-books of modern science now 
accessible to her people ; a fact which led a Chinese scholar of 
high position (already quoted) to maintain that China has de- 
rived more advantage from Christian missions than from for- 
eign commerce. 

An old missionary,! on the eve of embarking for his field of 
labor, once held up before my eyes something that resembled 
an elegant bird-cage, and asked me to guess what it contained. 
Said I, " I have not the least idea— a fairy queen, perhaps, 
for it looks like a palace." "It is a palace," he said, "and 
it shelters a queen ; I am taking a queen bee to India, to im- 
prove the native breed of honey-makers." 

Beautiful emblem of the gospel of Christ, which redeems 
human nature from its wild state, and enriches and sweetens 
this life as a foretaste of that which is to come! 

* Mr. Yung Wing, LL.D., of Yale, has been newly appointed a com- 
missioner for foreign affairs in the viceroyalty of Nanking. 

t Dr. Woodside, of the American Presbyterian Mission in India. 



APPENDIX 



A. POPULATION OF CHINA PROPER 

N. B. — The eighteen provinces south of the Great Wall form what is 
called China proper. They fall into four ranges, or belts, from east to 
west ; two belts lying to the north of the Yang-tse-Kiang, and two to the 
south. 

OUTER NORTHERN BELT 

Square miles. Population in 1887. 

Shantung 65, 104 36,644,000 

Chihli 58,949 17,937,000 (in 1879) 

Shansi 55.268 10,658,000 

Shensi 67,400 8,403,000 

Kansu 86,608 5,411,000 (in 1879) 

INNER NORTHERN BELT 

Kiangsu 44,500 21,408,000 

Anhui 48,461 20,597,000 (in 1879) 

Honan 65, 104 22, 1 1 7,000 

Hupeh 70.450 33.763.000 

Szechuen 166,800 73,178,000 

INNER SOUTHERN BELT 

Chekiang 39. 1 50 11, 703,000 

Kiangsi 72,176 24,559,000 

Hunan 74>32o 21,006,000 

Kweichau .... 64,554 4,806,000 

OUTER SOUTHERN BELT 

Fu-kien (with Formosa) .... 53.480 24,344,000 (in 1886) 

Kwangtung (with Hainan) . . 79,456 29,762,000 

Kwangsi 78,250 5, 121,000 (in 1879) 

Yunnan 107,969 11,721,000 



Total 1,298,000 383, 138,000 

The population of the outlying regions is but a drop in a bucket, compared 
with that of the eighteen provinces. To 4,957,000 for the three provinces 
of Manchuria, add 1,238,000 for Kashgaria, and 5,000,000 each for Mon- 
golia and Tibet, and we have a grand total of 399,333,000. The figures 

459 



460 APPENDIX 

for the four provinces marked (1879) are taken from a paper of Mr. Paul 
Popoff , of the Russian legation, Peking ; the remainder from a paper of Dr. 
Dudgeon, by whom they were extracted from a memorial of the Board of 
Revenue, obtained from the Marquis Tseng, a vice-president of that board. 
The common estimate of four hundred millions for the population of the 
empire is probably not in excess of the truth. Owing to imperfection in 
their mode of enumeration, strict accuracy is not to be expected. A 
governor of a province will sometimes add what he supposes to be the 
probable increment to an old census, instead of taking the trouble to make 
a new one. As reports of the population are rendered every year, they 
may be considered as proximately trustworthy. " The Chinese," says 
Dr. Williams, " are doubtless one of the most conceited nations on earth; 
but with all their vanity they have never thought of rating their popula- 
tion twenty-five or thirty per cent, higher than they suppose it to be, 
for the purpose of exalting themselves in the eyes of foreigners." That 
they could lower the figures for the purpose of making the population 
appear less in the eyes of foreigners never occurred to the author of " The 
Middle Kingdom." Yet they stand convicted of that extraordinary freak. 
Here is what Dr. Dudgeon says of it and its motive. Referring to a 
table of returns, obtained by one of the foreign ministers, which made 
the total for China proper only two hundred and fifteen millions, he re- 
marks that " the figures presented were designedly misleading, having been 
reduced exactly one third, with the connivance and by the sanction of 
the board. The true reason, which was afterward forthcoming, was that 
the officials sought to check missionary zeal by this considerable reduction 
of the population. In the following year, as no abatement of missionary 
immigration seemed to follow, the [subtracted] figures were again added 
to the record." 

B. STATE OF TRADE 

The complete returns for 1895 are not yet obtainable. For that reason, 
as well as for want of space, we omit a tabular statement. Two facts, 
however, speak volumes for the vitality and prospects of the China 
trade: first, the total trade for 1894 was greater than for 1893, notwith- 
standing the war with Japan, being respectively 290,207,000 taels and 
267,995,000 taels; second, the receipts for the last quarter of 1895 were 
greater than for the last quarter of 1894, notwithstanding the loss of three 
ports by the cession of Formosa, and the temporary occupation of Liao- 
tong. The figures stand thus : 

1894, last quarter, from 20 ports 5,209,000 taels 

1895, " " " 17 " 5,212,000 taels 



INDEX 



Academy, Imperial, Ilanlin, lOO, 

303. 312. 
Agriculture, honor to, 243. 
Aitchison, Rev. W., 190 ; his strange 

presentiment, 203. 
Alchemy, 104, 303, 314. 
Aldersey, Miss, queer ways and 

good works, 207. 
Allies, English and French, take 

Taku, 162: repulsed, 190; take 

Taku, 217; Peking, 219. 
Almanac, superstitious use of, 310. 
Almanna, legend of, 245. 
American relations, 406 ; influence, 

409; trade, 410. 
Amoy, visit to, 37. 
Angell, Hon. J. B., 23, 407. 
Anti-foreign policy, 19. 
Anti-tax riot, 91. 
" Arrow " war begun, 143. 
Arsenal, Fuchau, 45. 
Artist, Chinese, 147. 
Astronomy, 309. 
Audience question, 199, 433. 
Avatar of dragon, 83. 

Baldwin, Rev. Dr. Caleb, 45. 

Bamboo, its uses, 172. 

Battles at Taku, 162, 190, 217. 

Beggars, cunning tricks, 78. 

Bell, Great, legend of, 248. 

Billequin, Professor, his work, 303. 

Blodget, Rev. Dr. H., 240. 

" Blood is thicker than water," 192. 

Boards, six, of state, 337. 

Boat travel on Peiho, 137 ; on Grand 

Canal, 291. 
Books of Confucius burned, 258. 
Bradley, Consul, 147, 148. 



Brandt, Herr von, German minister, 

342, 408. 
Bridal ceremony, 367. 
Bride of river-god, 121. 
Bridgman, Rev. Dr., 211 (note). 
Brown, Hon. J. Ross, 376, 407. 
Brown, Rev. Dr. S. R., 457. 
Buddhism, 38, 226, 261. 
Bull-fights, 96. 
Burlingame, Hon. Anson, 222, 231, 

374- 
Burmah, 392. 
Burns, Rev. William, 239. 
Buttons, mark of rank, 151. 

Canton, visit to, 23. 

Cart travel, 197, 198, 265. 

Caste, none, 329. 

Censors, 312, 341, 388. 

Census. See Population. 

Ceremony, 99, 323. 

Chefoo, Convention of, 430. 

Chemistry, 303, 314. 

Chusan, 47. 

Civil service. Part II., chap, viii., 

328; examinations for, 42; science 

introduced, 318. 
Clan life, no. 
Classics, nine, 58 ; five, 59. 
Clerks, indispensable, 331. 
College, Imperial, Tungwen, 293 ; 

continued, 306. 
Confucius, visit to tomb of, 280 ; 

character and teachings, 287, 288. 
Contraries, list of, 152. 
Converts, genuine, 67 ; doubtful, 

238. 
Coolie traffic, 31. 
Corea, 402. 



461 



462 



INDEX 



Coulter, Mrs. C, 211. 
Cricket, game of, 96. 
Cue, mark of subjection, 24. 
Culbertson, Rev. Dr., 211. 
Cursing, practice of, 81. 
Cushing, Hon. Caleb, 23. 
Customs service, 411. 

Denby, United States minister, 407, 

453- 
Devil, one cast out, 70. 
Devils, invocation of, 80, 
Dialects of Chinese, 53 ; dialect ro- 

manized, 54. 
Dominicans, 34, 440. 
Doolittle, Rev. J., 17 (note). 
Doty, Rev. E., 37. 
Dowager Empress Tszehi, 262, 346. 
Dragons, good and bad, 83, 313. 
Drama, the Chinese, 72. 
Dudgeon, J., M.D., 320, 322. 
Dupont, Captain (Admiral), 148, 

160, 178. 
Dynasties, sketch of, 251. 
Dzungming Island, 129. 

Earthquake, lOi. 

Eclipses, earliest record, 152. 

Edict of toleration, 440 ; forbidding 
riots, 451. 

Edkins, Rev. Dr., 240. 

Education, 42, 235, 293, 306. 

Elements, five, 236. 

Elgin, Lord, his mistakes, 221. 

Elliot, Captain, 22. 

Emigration sought by us, 160; pro- 
hibition repealed, 161. 

Emperor, his checks, 336, 337. 

Empress dowager, 262, 346. 

England. See Great Britain. 

Evidences of Christianity, 70. 

Examinations for civil service, 42. 

Exogamy, no. 

Fable of clam, 401 ; of fox, 183 ; of 
magic carpet, 20 ; of magic whip, 
18. 

Family government, 334. 

Feudal system abolished, 257. 

Feuds, village, 112 ; of junkmen, 95. 

Filial piety, 24; models, 115. 



Fishing, queer modes of, 117. 
Flood, the Chinese, 114. 
Foster, Hon. J. W., 325, 355. 
Four Books, 60. 
France, relations with China, 393 ; 

first war with China, 145 ; second 

war with China, 395. 
Friendship of Yushan, 176. 
Fuchau (Foo-chow), visit to, 37. 
Ficngshni (geomancy), 41. 

Gambling, passion for, 96. 

Gardens, Howqua's, 30. 

Geography, sketch of, 46. 

Geomancy {fiitigshui), 41. 

God, names for, 34. 

Goddess of mercy, 119, 120. 

Golden age, 252. 

Good offices of United States pro- 
vided for, 183; exercised, 406. 

Goodrich, Rev. Dr., 198. 

Gordon, General, 139, 389. 

Grand Canal, 291. 

Grant, General, visit of, 324. 

Great Britain, relations with China, 
y^Q passim. 

Great Wall, visit to, 250; best place 
to study history, 251. 

Gros, Baron, 141. 

Gumpach, J. von, his eccentricities, 
304. 

Han, dynasty of, 260. 

Hangchau, visit to, 112. 

Hankow taken by rebels, 128. 

Happer, Rev. Dr., 29. 

Hart, Sir Robert, 214, 411, 232, 375. 

Heaven, altar of, 242. 

Hills, our summer resort, 222. 

History, sketch of, 251. 

Hoang-Ho (Yellow River), 47, 280, 

282. 
Hong Kong, aspect and growth, 18. 
Honorary portals, 271. 
Human sacrifices, 121. 
Hung, rebel chief, 127 (whole 

chapter). 

Idols, eyeless, 73 ; processions of, 71. 
Infanticide, 107. 
Inns, squalid, 268. 



INDEX 



463 



International law introduced, 221, 

233- 
Interpreters, School of, 293. 

Japan, relations with, 400; war with, 

403. 
Jesuit missions, 34, 410. 
Jews, visit to a colony of, 265. 

Kanghi, Emperor, 262, 289, 440. 
Keying, rise and fall, 171, 174. 
Kuangsii, the reigning sovereign, 

316, 317, 437. 
Kung, Prince, 344. 
Kwanyin, goddess of mercy, 1 19, 

120. 
Kweiliang, prime minister, 171. 

Laniaism, 247, 244. 
Language, study of, 52. 
Laotse, father of Taoism, 103. 
Laureate, scholar, 100. 
Lawyers, but no bar, 116. 
Lay, Mr. H. N., 231, 420. 
Legge, Rev. Dr., 34. 
Letter of emperor, 172. 
Letters, revival of, 260. 
Literature, sketch of, 58. 
Low, Hon. F. F., 407. 

Macao, visit to, 31. 

MacGowan, Dr. D. J., 214. 

Magic and medicine, 322. 

Magic and riots, 448. 

Manchu dynasty, 262 ; scholar, 358 ; 

statesman, 360. 
Mandarins, Part II.,chap. viii., 328; 

their grades, 151. 
Marriage ceremonies, 367. 
Marriages, mixed, 97. 
Martin, Rev. S. N. D., 212, 57. 
Massacres of missionaries, 445, 447. 
Mayors, functions and emoluments 

of, 332, -^^^iZ- 
McCartee, Dr. D. B., 210. 
McCartney, Lord, 433, 436. 
McCartney, Sir Halliday, 365. 
Mediation by the United States, 183, 

406. 
Medical missions, 27, 322. 
Medicine, ideas of, 320. 



Mencius, 60. 

Metempsychosis, 39. 

Military antics, 75, 330. 

Missions and missionary questions, 

439- 
Mohammedans, 195, 274. 
Mongols, 262. 
Moule, Bishop, 213. 
Mountains, sacred, 49. 

Natural philosophy, 236 ; edition for 
emperor, 237. 

Negotiations at Taku, 250 ; at Ti- 
entsin, 267. 

Nestorians, 439 (note). 

Ningpo, site and aspect, 51, 204 
(note). 

Nirvana, 38, 229. 

Neutrality ignored, 192. 

Neutrals, their position, 166. 

Nevius, Rev. Dr., 213. 

New- Year ceremony, 272, 365. 

Observatories, old and new, 309. 
Old students, 315. 
Opium-smoking, its eifects, 85 ; Chi- 
nese opinion of, 87, 
Opium war, its real cause, 21. 

Papal representation at Peking, 443. 
Parker, Peter, M.D., 27. 
Parkes, Sir Harry, 422 (note). 
Patriotism, no word for, 16$ ; spuri- 
ous, 166. 
Pavilion, Homeward View, legend 

of, 245. 
Peiho, United States embassy on, 

197. 
Persecution of Christians, 440. 
Philosophy of Buddhism, 38, 120, 

229 ; natural notions of, 236. 
Pirates, my experience among them, 

122; missionaries murdered by, 

44. 
Planchette, Taoist, 106, 137. 
Plenipotentiary, title wanting, 152; 

title granted, 167. 
Poet, sad fate of, 81. 
Poetry, an age of, 261. 
Pope, his decision, 34, 440 ; a Taoist 

pope, 105, 



464 



INDEX 



Population, 263, Appendix. 
Portents, 312, 313, 428. 
Portuguese, massacres of, 93, 94. 
Preaching, pagan, 289. 
Printing, a Chinese invention, 308, 

261. 
Prisoners, release of, 74, 202. 
Processions of idols, 71. 
Proclamations against riots, 452. 
Puto, a sacred island, 119. 

Quail, a fighting bird, 96. 
Quanyin, See Kwanyin ; for other 
names in Q see K. 

Railways, the first, 233 ; projected, 
268, 427. 

Rankin, Rev. H. V., 212, 57. 

Rebellion, Taiping, 127. 

Reed, Hon. William B., his nego- 
tiations, 148, 165. 

Regency, two empresses, 263, 345. 

Release of prisoners, 74, 202. 

Religions, three, 289 ; the triad com- 
pleted, 261. See Buddhism, Tao- 
ism, Confucius. 

Riots, cause and cure, 445. 

Rites, Board of, 323 ; Book of, 60. 

Rivers, 47. 

Roberts, Rev. Issachar, 29. 

Russell, Bishop, 55, 112, 213. 

Russia, relations with, 388. 

Sacrifices, human, 120. 
Salt, a state monopoly, 167. 
Schereschewsky, Bishop, 240. 
Schools, 42; mission schools, 235, 

454, 457- 

Seclusion, policy of, 19. 

Seward, Hon. G. F., 407, 409. 

Shanghai taken by rebels, 138. 

Showy sign-boards, 26. 

Slavery, 307 (note). 

Smith, Bishop, 34. 

Soul, search for one, 68, 80. 

Steamers, first Chinese, 204, 206. 

Students, 314, 315. 

Suicide, 120, 121 ; granted by de- 
cree, 175. 

Summer palace destroyed, 219. 



Taiping rebellion, 127. 

Taku taken, 162, 217; repulse at, 

190. 
Taoism, 102 ; a Taoist truth-seeker, 

lOI. 

Tartars. See Mongols and Man- 
chus. 

Tatnall, Commodore, his speech, 
192. 

Taxes, anti-tax riot, 91. 

Teachers, respect for, 358 ; emper- 
or's English, 316, 317, 318. 

Temple of Confucius, 283. 

Temples and priests, Buddhist, 226, 
227. 

Term question, 34. 

Theater, 72. 

Toleration by decree, 440; by treaty, 
441 ; article in United States 
treaty, 181, 182. 

Tombs of emperors, 249 ; of Confu- 
cius, 280. 

Trade, American, 410. 

Transmigration of souls, 39. 

Treaties signed, 183, 187, 188. 

Tseng, Marquis, 363, 385. 

Tsungli Yamen, United States rela- 
tions with, 406. 

Vassals, treatment of, 371. 

Vegetarians, 447. 

Viceroy Chang Chitung, 388; Li 

Hung Chang, 347. 
Village government, 335. 
Voyage out, 17; up coast, 36. 

Wade, Sir Thomas, 427. 

War, the opium, 21 ; the "Arrow," 

143 ; French, 395 ; Japanese, 403. 
Ward, General, 139. 
Ward, Hon. J. E., visit to Peking, 

190, 194. 
Widows, 209, 210, 273, 121. 
Williams, Dr. S. W., 2% passim. 
Women, 82; funeral honors to, 

164. 
Worship of ancestors, 214, 440. 

Young, Hon. J. Russell, 407. 



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